Tales of Gods Eaters
by Eyeshield
Summary: Asbel Lhant is now a Dimensional Traveler. His first job? Save humanity from monsters called Aragami. How? Join the Gods Eaters.
1. Chapter 1

**Tales of Gods Eaters**

_Well, I had this plot bunny in my head, I just had to get it out. It's a crossover between Tales of Graces F and Gods Eater Burst. Well, really, it's just Asbel, a few months after the Future Arc and now a dimensional traveler (elite agent sent to other worlds… hopefully I can tell that story another time…) dumped into the GEB world. It'll be told from his POV. Hopefully, I can satisfy you guys…_

_Anyway, STORY TIME!_

Well, I know this is out of character for me... but I really have to look back at the past few months.

I've gone on two great adventures, decided to take over my late father's position as the lord of Lhant, became friends with two eldritch abominations who wanted to wipe out humanity because of "issues" and the medium of observing humans for one of them, and got another eye color. I just wanted some rest. Perhaps lasting a lifetime, if that's too much to ask. Then I'm "invited"(*cough*forced*cough) by my friends from other worlds (I CANNOT believe Sena was from one the whole time… though, to be fair, he had a tough time too…) to become an elite agent that traverses alternate worlds, lost a few more months training for the job (WHICH WAS HARD) and finally, I'm here, dumped into a post-apocalyptic planet called "Earth" (Very original.), wearing a brand new set of clothes that are apparently special.

Wow.

Anyway, apparently, the entire planet's been taken over by monsters called Aragami. Humanity's done its best but…

I don't know how long they can last.

I really want to help these people. I want to help save this world. I want…

I want to protect them.

DTs have given me absolutely no idea how to proceed. They apparently told me to take over somebody else's role, something which doesn't usually happen. Basically, I just have to go around and be myself, and my first objective will happen.

I don't know whether I should be relieved at the lack of things to do, or be frustrated at the lack of information on how to do them.

But back to the main point. My first course of action is to join a group of people who are apparently humanity's last hope in fighting these Aragami off, the Gods Eaters. I've been dropped off at a country called "Japan", apparently an alternate version the home Sena always wanted to return to. I know a bit about it from the way he often talked about it, but not much, so I decide to find out more to help me.

I'm currently in the remains of a forest. All the leaves are gone, very few trunks are standing. I take a look at my surroundings and… myself, actually. Instead of my usual clothes (Stuck here in my Infini-Pockets… It makes no sense how the heck it works) I am now wearing a white hoodie with a black undershirt. To match my tops, a pair of black pants and white shoes complete my outfit. On my hands I have black fingerless gloves, and finally on my right wrist I have a very special watch. It's called a Dimensional Watch (DMW), which gives me messages and notices from DTs and apparently has another power called Dimensional Mind Wave… but I don't know when the higher-ups will activate it for me. Apparently not this time. Sena told me the power's based on the ability of a guy called Zack Fair, who gained new special attacks when he met new people.

Huh. Weird.

Anyway, I continue looking around to see if I can find anything interesting.

I do. A gravestone: "Our daughter, Anya. We will never forget her."

Tears well up in my eyes. I look closer, and see a picture of a family. A mother with beautiful features and long blond hair, the father beside her, hair curled around his smiling face as both he and his wife embrace their daughter, a young girl, probably no older than 10, with a face just like her mother's and long hair shaped into two tails, beaming back at both of them.

The grave is fresh. I can tell because I can still see the tear marks on the photo. It gets a few more from me.

A family torn apart. A family that is incomplete because one of them had their lives taken from them.

A family just like mine.

She looks just like Sophie.

I have to find out how to do what I was sent to do. I HAVE to join the Gods Eaters. I have to prevent this from happening ever again.

I see a ruined city in the distance. I'll see if I can find anything there.

I continue walking. The streets themselves are all empty, filling them with an eerie and haunting silence. I explore every district I see, look around every corner I find, but still nothing. Or no one.

When DTs said that an apocalypse happened, they weren't kidding. Everywhere I see stray blocks of stone, concrete and gravel. Nearly none of the buildings are in one piece, and none of them are in perfect condition. They're all either worn down, have parts cut off or (mostly) combination of both. The silence continues to pierce my soul. Where the people are, I don't know.

DTs could've at least given me a darn map of the place. With the endless budget they have (and I'm pretty sure they DO have endless budget), couldn't they have given me a little more help?

Figuring that I might be walking in circles, I decide to rest for a bit. A bit of water wouldn't be bad either, but I'm not even going near the water here, infected as it might be in this time after the end. Considering that I made Hubert taste test the water way back then while exploring the forest the day we met Sophie, it just might be karma if I ever DO have to drink it.

I sit down. My back's leaning on the wall, and the sun is setting to create a beautiful twilight glow. Yet, it makes the atmosphere even gloomier than it already is. For some reason, I feel scared and disturbed. I fortunately still have my sword (and its accompanying sheath… it's amazing how many ways you can use it in the heat of battle). I grip it a little tighter, not too much to feel too tense, but not enough that I feel lax and not quick enough to react to anything that comes my way.

I wait a bit more, weapon at my side, but still nothing comes. There is still silence.

And then, an ear-piercing scream.

I get up immediately. I run as fast as I can, trying to discern where the cry came from. It was a girl's cry, probably younger than 14. I try to keep calm but alert while I try to gauge where the woman is, and finally decide on my route and dash back to the center of the city.

Fortunately, the woman is there. Unfortunately, so is the cause of her horror.

It appears that I have seen my first Aragami.

The creatures in front of me are horrifying sights to behold: Flying, sickly brown, egg-shaped monstrosities with what appear to be screaming white women with wings for arms in their mouths.

That is just disgusting. And also, it's just… wrong.

"RUN!" I shout to the little girl, who appears to have short brown hair and gray eyes. She is a lot shorter than me, wearing a thick brown shoulderless dress with shorts and sneakers. She is quite surprised at my presence, but doesn't have any time to look relieved. I quickly adopt a fighting stance, one leg forward and my arm on my sword's hilt, ready to unsheathe and unleash its power if I need to.

I am not letting another innocent soul die in front of me.

And so, my first of likely many battles in my life as a DT begins.

I sprint as fast as I can, trying to catch my enemies off guard. There appear to be… four of them. I quickly run up beneath one and jump, unsheathing my blade and slashing at it with an upward swing.

And then my blade bounces off.

Though I am obviously alarmed at this turn of events, at least it got their attention. The creatures all ominously turned to me and screeched, disturbing me even more. As I get ready for a tough fight, I see the girl, staring back behind a piece of rubble, fear etched onto her mouth, eyes, pretty much all of her face.

Well, it's time. Let's see if I can beat these monstrosities.

As the battle begins in earnest, the creatures all charge at me. I dodge them effortlessly and deliver another slash to one that passes by me. Once again my blade bounces off, but I seem to have dented (Great, it's like these things are made of iron or something) this one and it gives a small cry of pain. I don't know if I can win (rather pathetic in hindsight) but I have to.

As I try to think of what to do next, one of them suddenly shoots a ball of energy at me. I block it by quickly sheathing my blade and covering my body, but I am still blown back from the force. I steady myself and try to keep track of all of them and predict their movements. Sure enough, one of them screeches and sends yet another ball of energy, which I dodge easily. Another shoots, and I react again. Two more shots later, and here I am, right in front of them, anticipating their next moves. One of them sends yet another ball my way, but I decide to experiment.

I sheathe my sword and hold the sheath behind my head. When the energy gets near me, I side step it and swat the ball right back at the creature.

Well, that worked. Exhausting, yes, but it got results. I wasted a ton of energy on that little swing, but I was able to damage one of the gross egg-things. It loses its balance for a second, then screeches again. Suddenly, all of them use their energy ball attack on me. I dodge again, but because I feel a bit winded, it wasn't nearly as easy as it was a while ago.

I continue dodging their charges and give the occasional slash and swipe with my sheath and sword, and through it all, while I didn't get a single scratch, I didn't get much damage in either and I've lost a lot of energy.

"Darn it," I curse. Looks like I'm gonna have to use my artes.

One of them decides to get a little jumpy and breaks off from the pack. It charges at me and I decide to unleash one of the artes I created during my first journey through my seven years of training as a knight.

I use an Around Step, putting myself behind it. It charges again, and when it starts to get near me, I unleash my arte.

"REKKAIOU!" I shout, pouring energy into my blade as I stab the ground in front of me. Pink pillars erupt out of the earth a few feet ahead of me, and that seems to have done the trick. The one I hit was probably the same one I hurt a while ago since it seemed out to get me so badly, but at least the blossoming energy slowed it down and hurt it enough for me to unleash the second part of my arte.

"REKKAIOU!" I shout once again, and this time I stab in front of me with my sword, now encased in pink energy. That did it. It went straight into the creature's eye. Lucky shot. It disturbed me for the last time with a low screech and went limp. Just In case, I take my blade out and do one last Rekkaiou on its eye. That'll do it for that one.

OK, I think I just pissed off the others. They just gave one long cry while staring at me with their big red eyes. God that's creepy.

I get myself into stance again, trying to see if I can get another lucky hit in. So apparently, I'm going to have to hit them in the eye. I don't know HOW I'll hit them, but it's a start. They don't know I'm not going to do my batting trick again, so at least they're not using their energy ball attacks, but still I'm getting tired. Rekkaiou takes quite a bit out of me, but it looks like I'll have to rely on it and my other artes, whether they use up my stamina or not, to beat these creepy Aragami. As I dodge their charges, I decide to use the same tactic, attacking their eyes while they charge head-on, but with a different arte. One of them charges at me again, so I get ready, calm myself, and decide on another thrusting attack.

"FUUGAZEKOU!" I cry out, and I accelerate with massive force while I extend my blade ahead of me. I go straight through the creature, and once again, just for a good measure, I do the second part and dash back to my original position while running my blade straight through the Aragami. Once again, it falls to the ground, lifeless. Two are left, and I'm really feeling tired. Don't worry, just two left…

Getting ready once again, I try my best to dodge the onslaught of charges. I suddenly have a plan for what to do next. I get ready for the next charge, and soon enough one of them charges straight at me. Instead of looking at it, I look back and jump. As I jump, I cry out "HOURAISATSU!" encasing my sword in lightning. Luckily, my cry causes the flying egg to flip its head towards me, eyes facing me instead of the ground.

It's the last thing it ever sees.

I crash down on its eye, my thrust creating a dome of lightning around me. It screams in pain, and I decide to end its life. I unleash the second part of my arte, thrusting my sword further down making the lightning crackle even more. Its screams eventually end, and, like the others, it becomes limp and lifeless.

There's only one left at this point.

And it's mad.

But unlike the others, it just screams at me. It seems to think I'm too dangerous a target. What I cannot believe is that it was able to set its sights (Sight? Wait, no time for semantics…) on another target.

The girl.

Apparently, she was so engrossed in the entire show that she didn't move. Was I some kind of superhero to her, some kind of shining invincible force in her eyes?

…

Well, to be fair, considering how hard it was to pierce the creature's skin, the fact that I was able to cut it must have looked superhuman to her, let alone with a mundane sword. My artes probably didn't make things any harder for her to believe that I'd be able to beat them no sweat.

Not good.

Anger boils up within me. As the girl screams at the pursuit of the hideous Aragami, I dash with all my might to save her. Using my long-range artes are not going to help at all, as I risk hurting her.

Unless…

As the girl's cries for help start getting louder, I get desperate. I have no choice. I sheathe my sword and concentrate…

"SOUJIN!"

Unsheathing my blade, I slash, and a dark wave of energy appears from out of nowhere and slices the monster. The monster, in painful rage, forgets its target and charges at me again.

I was ready.

I dash forward, and as it nears me I shout "BASSAIRYUUZAN!" as I slice through my enemy with four phantom strikes.

Silence.

Afterwards, a low cry of pain echoes throughout the deserted city.

And then, it finally falls.

Whew.

But I'm not done yet. I quickly run towards the girl, and thankfully she was not hurt at all. I give a sigh of relief and see if I can help her.

"Mister… Are they… Gone?"

She's so innocent. So scared. So frightened.

Somehow, she speaks the same language as me. Fortunate. I want to help her. I reach out to comfort her.

"It's OK, little girl. Everything's going to be fine…" I say. I truly hope so, and I'm willing to do anything for it to happen.

"Holy crap…" I suddenly hear.

I look around and see a man wielding a giant red chainsaw blade. He was tall, with brown gloves, a black jacket with an undershirt of the same color, black boots and black hair. I don't know how he's able to lift such a giant weapon, but at l least I know there are more survivors.

"Say, do you know this girl?" I ask, hopeful.

Snapping out of his daze, he replies "Oh, uh… no. Sorry, don't have a clue."

Oh well. I'll talk to him later. For now, I'll just concentrate on the girl. "Where do you live?"

"Um… I live in the Outer Ghetto." The girl replies in a small voice.

Ugh. First obstacle to my plans: I don't have a clue where anywhere is.

In fact, I don't have a clue where I AM.

"You wanna take her back home, don't ya?"

The man asks me with a smile. "Don't worry, we'll take care of that later. What I wanna do is ask about YOU." He suddenly gives me a probing look.

"Well, uh… about what?" I reply. What do I say? What will he even ask?

"Did you just take on four Aragami with just THAT metal stick? ALONE?" he asks with shock, surprise and wonder.

I don't like how he insulted my sword, but then I look at his chainsaw and just sigh. "I… guess I did?" I say. I'm not suppose to let anyone know where I'm from unless really, ABSOLUTELY necessary so hopefully nothing THAT personal will be asked of me...

His shock then turns neutral… and then a smile. "Wow. You're pretty damn strong. And… you did it for the girl, right?" he says. I return his smile with my own. "Well… yeah I did. I can't just stand around while a little girl's about to get eaten." I say. He continues to smile and the he says "Thanks. I don't know what would've happened if you weren't here." He then introduces himself "I'm Lindow, Lindow Amamiya. Nice ta meet ya." Well. He's quite friendly. I better reciprocate. "I'm Asbel. Asbel Lhant. It's nice to meet you too." Then I look at his weapon and ask "Uhh… how long were you there?"

Lindow then looks at me and says, "I got here while you were taking care of the last one, giving it the final blow. Damn, I've NEVER seen moves like that, like out of a TV show. How'd you do it?"

As I suddenly get very hot and nervous trying to think of an answer, the girl suddenly says "You should've seen him awhile ago! He had pink energy erupting from the ground and surrounding his blade, lightning crackling around his sword and he was able thrust right through them and slash the last one without even touching it!"

As Lindow looks at me even more incredulously, I suddenly get even more nervous. Great, how am I suppose to explain this? These are people who are struggling to survive against a threat which seems so alien, otherworldly in nature. Saying "Duuhhh… I come from another dimension and house a spirit with a lot of issues and is using me to see if he should eliminate all of mankind" MIGHT not make me any friends.

OK, they might just laugh at me because I'm overthinking things, but I am NOT taking any chances.

THINKTHINK

"Um, it's OK if you don't wanna tell us…" the man says. I swear I see a giant sweatdrop the way he looks at me…

Relieved, I thank him and ask his help in escorting the girl back home.

A big smirk.

"Sure. In fact I'll even give you an offer."

Hmm… I wonder what he wants?

"So, you slay four Aragami with a sword own your own to save a little girl. In exchange… well you know what, let's help her first. She's had a rough day. Let's get her home."

I agree with him, and decide to get the girl back home.

After a bit of walking, we find ourselves in the Outer Ghetto. It can best be described as a slum area, but as far as those go, it's not bad. Food's not incredibly scarce, and the place provides protection from those monsters. We didn't talk too much on the way, but I wonder what his offer is? As we walk through the streets, I see the people staring at all of us in awe, looks of surprise and shock etched on their very faces. Lindow keeps smiling all the while, then suddenly a woman with long brown hair and green clothes dashes out into the street. She embraces the child we just saved, saying with tears in her eyes "Oh Lena… Oh my darling I thought I'd never see you again…" Lena, crying as well says "Oh mommy… It's OK, I'm here now…"It was heartwarming to see. At least I saved this little one. I wonder where the father is though…

The mother then stands up, looks at Lindow and says "Oh thank you, thank you, how can we ever repay you?" Suddenly, Lindow's smile turns into a smirk and I suddenly get an ominous feeling of dread. "Oh, no need to thank me. I didn't do anything. If anything, you should thank him, the guy who took on four Aragami on his own with a dinky metal sword just to save your little girl."

And I was right. The crowd stares at me in awe, and suddenly lifts me into the air and cheers. So much for keeping a low profile…

Later on, I decide to go with Lindow and take him up on whatever offer he has for me. I decide to bid Lena farewell before I leave. "Say mister, will I ever see you again?" she asks with bright eyes. "Hmm… Well, we'll see!" I reply, smiling back at her. She then says "You know mister, I'm sure that if you join the Gods Eaters, you'll take care of 'em in no time!" Well, I'm not sure about that, but I sure hope so…

Lindow then walks up to me and says "Well kid, time to go. I'll see if I can't help with any favors YOU have in mind before I make my offer," he says. Lena then says "Bye mister! Say, if you do join the Gods Eaters, tell my brother Kota what you did! He's gonna become one soon!" I make a mental note to look up Kota Fujiki if… No, when I become a Gods Eater. I need to become one soon.

The sun has finally set. It's a beautiful night and Lindow then asks me "OK kid. Shoot. Anything you need from me before I make my offer?" I answer relatively quickly because I already know what I want. "Lindow, I need to become a Gods Eater. I need to… I want to help and protect these people… this world. How do I join them?" my decision is final, my will resolute.

Lindow's smile turns into surprise, then he changes his expression into warm grin. "Wow… man I didn't expect that. This'll be easier than I thought," he says. "Asbel, right? Well, turns out we both want the same thing…"

No way.

Extending his hand, Lindow says"Asbel Lhant, I, Lindow Amamiya, Captain of the First Unit of the Fenrir Far East Branch of Gods Eaters ask you: Would you like to join us? Would you like to become a Gods Eater?" he asks with a warm smile.

This is the best I've felt all day (Well, aside from saving Lena…). Right in front of me is the first step in saving this world. Looking back, DTs was right. If I just be myself, everything will fall into place.

Smiling, I shake Lindow's hand and say: "Yes, I will join you. I will become… A Gods Eater"

ToGE: Chapter 1: Finished…

_Well guys, that ends the first chapter. The DTs universe in incredibly large as a crossover, which is why I'm a bit reluctant to do ALL of it in one summer. Anyway, hope to see you next time. _

_Oh yeah, guess where DMW comes from :D_


	2. Chapter 2: Becoming a Gods Eater

**Tales of Gods Eaters**

_Well, here's the second chapter to ToGE. Asbel formally joins Fenrir in this chapter and learns a bit more about his new job. For those wanting to read Asbel still using his artes and Blast Calibers, don't fear. He didn't spend months training for nothing. Just because the blades here don't have the same tech doesn't mean he won't be able to fight… But I digress. _

_And for those who were diligent, I'm very sorry, I didn't know the real name of Kota's sister or Lindow's real rank of Corporal. Epic research FAIL. I'll edit it soon…_

_BTW, italics = somewhere else. Bold means background noise._

_Also, I forgot to disclaim: Tales of Graces, Tales of Graces F and Gods Eater Burst and anything official associated with them are Bandai Namco's property. Other stuff you find here that are from other properties are also not mine. Any original elements, _and only those,_ are mine  
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_Anyway, CHAPTER TIME!_

_*Start*  
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Well, Lindow asked me to become a Gods Eater, and I accepted. I thought to myself "Hey, I'm a Gods Eater now, right?" Well, apparently not. I knew things were too easy. Lindow told me he'd try to get me in, but whether they said yes or no, he said it would take at least a week. He said that they had to run all sorts of tests, see if they could find a matching God Arc and Bias Factor, a Gods Eater's weapon and its main material, for me. I asked why, and he said it's either I wait or get eaten by my own weapon.

Well, that certainly exemplifies "Patience is a virtue."

He took me to a place near the base, asked for a bit of my hair and he told me to prepare. I've spent a week training my body in any way I possibly could, and I have a feeling it'll all be useless anyway, but still, better to try at least. I've fortunately encountered no other types of Aragami all this time aside from those egg-shaped monsters my first day here (what a welcome that was). DTs fortunately gave me a cell phone (These are amazing! Long-range communication at any time or place thanks to having omniversal signal! Awesome!) with my DMW (well, actually, my watch IS the cell phone, but nobody needs to know that…) and I gave Lindow my number, so I guess I'm stuck waiting. He told me to call him if I had any trouble, told me that the weak points of those Zygotes (what they call that Aragami type… Oh great, there's more…) were Fire, Ice or Thunder. I guess that explains why they screamed so loud when I used Houraisatsu… anyway he's fortunately told me where Fenrir Far East's base is, so he just told me he'll contact me on the day of the final decision.

So I trained. And waited.

A week passed. My "phone" rings. At last.

"Hey Asbel, Lindow here," Lindow says. "How's it going?" I sense anticipation in his voice. I wonder. "Fine, I guess. I've prepared as best as I could. I will get in. I promise," I reply. I meant every word. That, and if I'm ever to see everyone back home again, or even see home at all, I have to do what I was sent here to do. So it's not like I have a choice.

Looking back now, how is everybody? They'll have noticed I'm gone now. I hope things will be OK.

And Cheria… I missed her so much over those long months before we reunited for our second adventure, though that is DEFINITELY karma for all the pain I've caused her and everyone else for the past seven years. She's back with us at the mansion in Lhant now, being the motherly older sister she is to Sophie and my dearest childhood friend…

And I'm waiting for her now, waiting for her to come home, waiting for the day when I can finally tell her how I feel. It's my turn to wait.

But anyway, I'm probably going to cause trouble for everybody if I'm gone for too long, so I have to end this quickly. If I ever want to live up to my father's hopes and dreams, I have to succeed.

Lindow then whisks me out of my thoughts by asking worriedly "Hey Az… you ok?" his voice tinged with concern. "Huh? Yeah. Just thinking about home…" I tell him. It's true anyway. "I left them all behind… but they'll be alright, I hope…"

"If you're sure… Anyway Asbel, get to the base ASAP. We need to have you get ready for your new job," Lindow orders.

Huh?

"Wait, so…"

"I forgot to mention that if I don't tell you to come to the base you don't have a chance at all. So get your butt over here NOW!" he exclaims with pride.

"Lindow… so I'm a Gods Eater now?" I ask with growing anticipation.

Lindow suddenly turns silent. He then turns serious and warns me, "Kid, be careful. You only have one test, the test to inject Oracle Cells into your body and make a bond with your God Arc. They imprint an armlet onto your arm, and it has the Oracle Cells. Unfortunately, it hurts. It hurts a lot. It hurts LIKE HELL."

I go silent myself. Lindow's a playful and fun guy, but he knows when and how to act when things become serious. I guess that's why he's the Leader. I'm pretty sure everyone must think he's a great one. And I have no reason to not heed the Leader's grave tidings. I then reply "I have to join the Gods Eaters Lindow. You know what's the first thing I saw when I got here? A grave. It was for a little girl probably no older than 10. And the photo still had tear marks. And just yesterday, Nozomi almost met the same fate. Everywhere, people are dying or being killed because of all the destruction, horror and carnage those beasts bring. I'm not going to let that happen. If I can help even a little bit with what I do best, giving you aid on the field of battle, then I'll do whatever it takes. I will protect these people," I declare resolutely. Determination filling my voice, I make my intentions clear. There's no way I'm failing.

Lindow then answers back with a tinge of warmth and admiration. "Wow kid. You know, I like you more every time you open your mouth, you know that?" "Wow. Uh… thanks, I guess…" I reply somewhat taken aback by the sudden praise. I seem to have that effect on some people, but it's not too bad. I decide to lighten the mood. "And it's certainly better than how my test scores in school were made." Lindow, cheerful again, asks, "What do you mean?" I tell him "I found out a few months ago my teacher determined my tests scores with dice rolls. That was seven years after I joined." Lindow goes silent, then just starts laughing. I decide to join in because that's pretty hilarious now, years after the fact. After we stop, Lindow just says, "Man, you're a laugh kid. I can't wait to have you here."

I hear voices in the background. "**Hey Lindow! We have to leave now!" **It seems to be a woman's voice, about Lindow's age.

"Asbel, I have to go now. I've got a mission to slay some Aragami. If you see my sister, listen to her OK? You need to if you want to survive."

Huh, his sister's involved with the Gods Eaters too. And she sounds scary. That's mental note number two about relatives to watch out for in Fenrir.

As the Leader's about to hang up, he instead puts his phone back on.

"Hey Asbel."

"Yeah?"

"Good luck, Gods Eater," he says with pride, concern, warmth and friendliness all in one.

I smile and say to him "Thanks, Lindow. You be careful too, OK?"

As he finally hangs up, I reflect on what I've learned. Lindow's probably gonna be my Leader, and I know that I can definitely trust him. Though he's always joking around, as a leader, he knows when he has to be serious. And I can already feel that he's the kind of leader who would never abandon his men. I already know what I must do. I walk towards the base. Let's see if I can't get this right.

_***A few hours later***_

_In a ruined city, a group of Aragami with incredibly sharp tails and hard heads feast on the corpse of an Aragami resembling a giant red-maned lion. Suddenly, another one of the lion-like creatures appears out of nowhere and roars. The group of small monsters is caught off-guard by the majestic creature, and are killed in the space of a few minutes…_

_As the red-mane starts to eat the hardheaded creatures, nearby, Lindow and his companions prepare to ambush the creature. One is a brown-haired woman with a very revealing, almost backless dress and a one-sided long skirt, all in green and black. The other is a dark-skinned, white-haired man with a blue hoodie and a yellow undershirt with a black tie. Lindow hides behind a wall, and as the creature drops his guard, all of them commence their ambush._

_The Aragami roared and tried to counterattack, but the wounds it already received, coupled with a few slashes and bullets to the face, silenced it quickly. Lindow examines the body, then pours energy into his God Arc. Suddenly, a menacing black mouth with several yellow eyes comes out from the sides of his sawblade, and it bites the lion. As the mouth chews through, it suddenly stops and from there Lindow extracts a shining object. Linodow grins and whistles, saying "Hey, it's a rare one!" The woman then says "Well, to the victor go the spoils, as they say." The Leader exclaims,"Wow, I bet Old Man Sakaki'll have a fit over this!" his female companion however sighs and asks, "Now if only they'd send us some reinforcements…" At that, Lindow smirks and thinks to himself, "Heh, she has NO idea what reinforcements we'll be getting today…" The white-haired man then impatiently declares, "Hey, I'm starving, can we go home now?" As the three walk back the woman asks "I wonder what kind of rations they'll serve us today?" Lindow, thinking to himself, replies, "Oh yeah, that came up in the last food meeting…" After bouncing some thoughts around in his head, his face then lights up and then he gleefully shouts, "I got it! Today, we'll be having a new type of corn!" His female companion then groans and complains "Whaat? Not that giant corn-on-the-cob again! It's so hard to chew!" Lindow then counters "Hey, times are hard you should be thankful you have rations at all!" Conceding, the woman then stops and asks the whit-haired man, "Hey Soma, can I trade you?" Soma then deadpans, saying "No way in hell." Impatiently, Lindow shouts, "Hey come on guys,wanna be left behind!"_

_***Meanwhile…***_

_In the director's room of Fenrir Far East's base, a woman says "Director, a Possible Match has been found for a New-Type Gods Eater." The director, a blonde-haired man with a white lab overcoat and an all black outfit of boots, sweater, pants and gloves goes silent for a moment, and then he says "Oh? Who is it?" The woman replies "Sir… It's the person recommended by us by First Unit Leader Lindow Amamiya." The director then looks at his laptop, smirks and thinks to himself, "Well, Corporal, it looks like you were right after all…" The Director then declares "Please bring him in. It's time for the aptitude test."_

"_Yes, Director."_

_***Finally***_

Darn, this place is HUGE! The Far East's Base is a lot more than I ever could've expected. I'm waiting outside patiently. I try to keep calm and prepare myself physically and mentally for the test Lindow told me about. I stand, walk around, and wait.

Then, the megaphone sounds.

"Asbel Lhant, please proceed to the training area for your aptitude test."

It's time. I go in and though my heart is beating out of control, I tell myself "It'll be fine. You're ready."

I step in and I see a huge steel (probably stronger than that, but it looks like steel) room. In front of meis a metal wall with different joints and many holes. There are two platforms on the side, one which has a black flag with the Fenrir symbol, the other one taller and with scratch marks scraping right through it. That's definitely ominous… anyway, I look around and high up I see a small glass window. A trio of scientists is standing there. I hear an announcement.

A deep voice says to me, "Now then… so you're Asbel Lhant? Very well. Let me welcome you to the last fortress of humanity, Fenrir. I will now test your compatibility to the Anti-Aragami Punitive Force, the Gods Eaters. Please try to relax a little. You'll get better results that way." After a short pause, the man says, "When you're ready, go stand in front of that case in the center of the room." I look at the "case". It's red, with many pipes at the base all leading to one in the center which has the symbol of Fenrir on it. Resting on the case is an orange blade, and a top panel supported by four small metal rods.

They're going to imprint the Oracle Cells onto me now, I guess. Very well. I've tried keep calm to the best of my ability. I've done my best to prepare.

I guess I'm as ready as I can be.

I walk up to the "case" and see a small indentation. Above it I see and armlet, the red one which I see on nearly everybody in the base. I breathe deeply, keep calm and place my right hand on the small indentation, taking off my watch and putting it on my left.

What I didn't see coming was the top panel smashing down on my hand.

I suddenly feel an immense pain. Every single nerve in my arm burns with horrible, unbearable pain. Through it all, I feel and hear a sickening… SOMETHING slithering around my wrist.

OH GOD. THE PAIN. MY ARM! IT'S GONNA COME OFF!

I don't know how and why, but I try to keep myself from screaming. I asked for this. If I fail and give up, I'm never seeing my friends again. I won't be able to help these people. All that talk about doing anything to get in will just be the ramblings of an arrogant and naïve fool. I close my hand and grasp the hilt of the blade, and with my other hand I hold my arm. I'm not going to give up. I WILL NOT GIVE UP! BRING IT ON!

Finally, after about 7 seconds of mind numbing trauma to my arm, the panel comes off. My wrist now has the read armlet on it. A black aura emanates from it. After the pain subsides, I lift the blade and take a close look at it. It's orange, with the top half sharp and straight and the bottom jagged. The hilt is covered by brown metal. Near where my wrist is a weird black and yellow spot…

Suddenly, the tentacles come out from the spot and go through the small socket in my armlet. I feel as if it's bonding with me, becoming part of me. After a few seconds, I see the black tentacles through the skin of my hand, and then they disappear…

The voice then announces "Congratulations. You are now the first of the Far East Branch's New-Type Gods Eaters. This concludes the Aptitude Test…"

…

YES!

Finally, after so much waiting and a few obstacles along the way, here I am.

A Gods Eater.

It's almost like how I felt when I became a knight. Except this is more forced.

"Now then, I'd like you to wait in the room behind that door. Don't hesitate to let someone know right away if you start feeling… unwell," the man says, giving an odd, ominous emphasis on the last word…

Oh HELL no. I am not going all this way and through all that crap only to be eaten by my own blade.

The scientist then says in an encouraging tone, "Remember young man, as someone personally recommended to me by the First Unit's Leader and as our first New-Type, I've high hopes for you!" Feelings of dread aside, I feel a bit better about the man's last words. I leave for the red door, but as I'm about to open it, he says "Oh, by the way…" I look back to show that I'm paying attention, and he says "Please refrain from using the sword of yours around here. Whether or not what Corporal Amamiya said was true, I doubt it would be of very much use against stronger Aragami anyway…"

I can almost picture him smirking as he says that. This is gonna be a pain for me later, isn't it? Hopefully Lindow hasn't told that many people…

And also, what's with all this New-Type business? I guess I'll just find out later.

The red door is right in front of me. It leads to what will soon be my new home for the rest of my time here. What the man said was true.

My days as a Gods Eater, and of fighting Aragami, start now.

With that, I enter the door, ready for what is waiting for me on the other side.

_**ToGE: Chapter 2: Finished…**_

_And that ends chapter 2! With that, Asbel explores the base and talks to the first few characters you'll meet in the game! See you later!_


	3. Chapter 3: Making A Few Friends

**Tales of Gods Eaters**

_It's time for chapter 3! Expect a LOT of talking before Asbel takes his checkup. I'm sorry, but this is how it'll be._

_BTW, a little retcon, the sword Asbel used in Chapter one is now Excalibur, the golden eleth sword that his dad used._

_And yes, Asbel will be a chick magnet. Time to make life difficult for a guy who's already in love…_

_Especially since he's freaking dense ;D_

_Like I said: Tales of Graces, Tales of Graces F and Gods Eater Burst and anything official associated with them are Bandai Namco's property. Other stuff you find here that are from other properties are also not mine. Any original elements here are mine and only those._

_Enjoy, guys._

_*START*_

When I get in, what I see is a place I'll probably be seeing everyday from now on. It appears to be a lobby. Numerous tables and couches are in place. To the sides are two screens showing the Fenrir symbol. On the upper floor, I can see windows that let the twilight sun shine in, giving it an odd, warm feeling. At the center of it all is a booth, a desk manned by a woman with orange hair, a white and flag with the same symbol I see all throughout the base.

Suddenly, the news comes out on both of them. I see a reporter on the screen. She says, "People are still talking about the man who was said to have slain four Aragami with a golden sword. Though Fenrir still claims that they have not heard of the incident and deny its plausibility, rumors still circulate."

I suddenly get nervous. I'm on the news. If those guys find out, I'm screwed beyond all belief…

I walk rather quickly to the side. There, I notice a young man wearing a yellow beanie with red stripes, his light brown hair still coming out from beneath it. He's wearing a white and red striped scarf, a yellow cloth and a black undershirt with a spider web designs. His shorts and shoes are orange and black, with his shorts opening up at the bottom.

And of course, he's wearing fingerless gloves and a red armlet. Must be quite a fashion statement for Gods Eaters…

Feeling it'd be nice to wait with someone to talk to, I sit down beside him. He notices me, and he says, "Hey… you want some gum?" Huh. Quite friendly. I debate whether to accept his offer or not, but as he sifts through his pockets, he sheepishly tells me, "Oh. I'm all out. Looks like I used the last piece. Sorry 'bout that." I just give him a blank look. I get the feeling this guy's a bit of an airhead, but hey, who am I to judge with stupidity like mine? "Don't worry, it's fine…" I assure him, and with that I ask him "So, how was the test?" He just grasped his arm and said "It hurt basically. A LOT," grimacing all the while. I don't blame him. "Yup, I know how you feel…" That was the most physical pain I've felt in my life. Ever. Yeesh, even getting Lambda to stop his plans wasn't this painful… And that involved inserting my arm into a core of eleth! But my seat mate interrupts my thoughts, asking me, "So… you just finished the test?" "Yup. Pretty much." "So you were a match too huh… You look a little older than me… Ah well, I got here a nanosecond ahead of you, so I'm still your senior by at least that much!" Well this guy's fun to be with. I laugh at his suggestion. "Well, I'm gonna turn… twenty soon." Maybe I already did, but yeah, having two different time progressions can mess up your sense of knowing how old you are. He grins and says, "What do you know, I'm right." Smiling, he introduces himself. "I'm Kota Fujiki, from the Outer Ghetto. It's nice to meet you!"

Wait, what?

"You just said Kota Fujiki, right?" I ask him. Looking at him, yeah, I think I see the resemblance…

"Yup. In the flesh." Well, this must be fate, me and Nozomi's brother becoming Gods Eaters together. I guess it's time to introduce myself. "My name's Asbel Lhant. It's nice to meet you too."

As we shake hands, Kota gains an inquisitive look on his face and says, "Whoa dude… your eyes have _hetechioroma_! That's pretty cool!" That was pretty blunt. I have to agree though. Having two eye colors definitely sets me apart. "Thanks. And yeah, it's pretty cool."

He'd probably find it even cooler if I told him I got that by stopping an immortal energy being through befriending him and showing him the… _worlds_, instead of trying to kill him, but I don't really need to do that right now…

I'm about to strike up another conversation when suddenly I hear footsteps and a woman's voice saying "Stand up."

I don't know what it was. Whether it was my days of training in the knight academy, or how the words were said, I don't know. Whatever it was, without checking out who said it, I shot right up.

Kota is shocked by my sudden reaction, but he apparently didn't hear the woman and just said "Huh?" The woman, annoyed shouts an order at him. "I said stand up! On your feet!" That did it. Kota stands straight up and looks at the ceiling, fearing for his life like I am.

Now that I'm a bit more aware of myself, I look at the woman and get a better picture of her. She has long black hair and an all white outfit, except for her black shoes. She has a yellow armlet instead of a red one… I wonder why? Her outfit is for some reason very revealing. It exposes a lot of her chest, and the sides of her pants don't cover up her the legs too well…

The woman then tells us "Since I'm on a tight schedule, I'll keep it short. I'm Tsubaki Amamiya and I'm your advisor."

I nearly shout a surprised "Huh?" but I think I'm going to die if I interrupt her at this rate. Lindow was definitely not kidding about his sister… I let her continue. "This is your schedule: After your medical checkup, you'll complete a full curriculum of basic physical training, basic armor training, and a weaponry/armor clinic. We are the ones who have been protecting you up until now. But from this day forward, you'll be doing the protecting."

I disagree with that. I only got here last week, and I've done some protecting around here already, but I won't give voice my thoughts. I'm not THAT stupid…

"If you don't want to die over something stupid, then answer my every order with a 'Yes.' Understood?"

"Yes, ma'am!" I answer. Alone, unfortunately, as Kota is still way too scared. So while the woman makes a small smile at me, she orders with an annoyed tone once again, "Answer me!" This time, Kota makes an immediate reply, and just for a good measure, I speak in unison with him "Yes ma'am!" She then says, "All right. Let's begin the medical checkups." Looking at me, she says "We'll start with you. Report to Paylor Sakaki's room by 1500 hours. Take a tour of the facilities until then. This is your new home, the Fenrir Far East Branch a.k.a. 'The Den'. Make sure you pay your respects to the members of your team. Very well then! Dismissed!" Finished, she goes off in the opposite direction and starts writing and checking her clipboard. I can see the back of her shirt. Why is it revealing too?

"Damn, she was really scary!" I look at Kota and he finally starts to move more than a frozen mannequin. Nodding my head at him, I say, "I couldn't agree more." Yup, I'll have to follow Lindow's advice if I want to survive. "Well, I'll see you later Kota." Shaking off the last of his fear, he encourages me. "Well, good luck man. Hope you aren't sick or anything!"

Well, looks like I have some free time. It's 1:30. I guess I'll check out the Den now.

***SCENE BREAK***

A weird man with a strange red, brown and yellow outfit and black glasses calls me. "Hey kid. Come over here." He's surrounded by all kinds of wares, from ammo to items to weird materials. "Hey, you a rookie? You're gonna need more than rations and rewards to take on the Aragami. Just listen to me… Replenish your supplies right here! I think my prices are pretty damn good."

Supplies huh. I wouldn't have known that there'd be somebody who could take advantage of a business like this. "Thank you, uhh…." Hmm... I don't know his name. He smiles at me and says "No worries, rookie. Just call me the Merchant!" Strange guy. Strange doesn't mean one should avoid, however. After all, the Turtlez aren't bad… "people" (are they turtles or not? I still don't know). He seems like a pretty decent guy. "Well then… Thank you, Merchant." I bid him goodbye, and with a final wave, leave to talk to someone else. The lady at the booth is too busy right now so I think of heading upstairs.

But before I can, a little girl's voice interrupts me. "Excuse me…" I look around and I find the little girl to my left. She's wearing a black dress, a white sailor's hat and red stockings. I'm certainly not going to leave her alone. "Yes? How can I help?" The little girl straightens up and asks "Do you work here?"

Hmm… Well, I just got accepted, sure, but I guess…

"I guess I do. What do you need?" I ask her gently. The girl says "I seem to have been separated from my father… Do you know where he is?" I think about what to say and reply "I'm sorry, I've never met him… so I don't know." The child frowns, but then smiles again "Oh well, I guess I can just ask that operator lady over there after she's done talking. I'll just shop at the merchant's while waiting. Thanks, and see you around!" I smile at the girl and reply in the same way.

Looking around, I've noticed Tsubaki's now downstairs. She appears to be free, so I decide to talk to her. "Uhm, advisor, may I speak with you?" She turns to me, checks her clipboard and then tells me "Make it quick. I'm on a tight schedule." I nod and ask her, "How's your brother been these days?" She then looks at me with a probing expression and asks "How do you know about Lindow?" Looking back at her, I answer, "He's the only reason I'm here. He's the one who recommended me to the superiors. His job as Leader must be hard, so I'm asking if he's been OK. It's the least I can do after what he's done for me…" Tsubaki then stares at me with a very brief look of surprise, then reverts back to her normal, cold expression and says "You're the one who Lindow recommended, the one he says defeated four Aragami with nothing but a golden sword?" Ugh, he could've kept that unnecessary part out… "… Yes I am, ma'am." She then looks at me like I'm insane or something and asks "How did you do that? WHY did you do that?" I become serious. "A girl was about to be eaten. I couldn't bear to just stand by and do nothing. I've always wanted to protect others ever since I was eleven, and I didn't make an exception that time. I don't plan to for any time if I can help it. As for how I beat them… Well, that was my first encounter with Aragami, but I've risked my life on the field of battle before. I decided to at least help the girl escape. That would be the least I could do."

Tsubaki stares at me. She then smiles warmly."I'm beginning to see why my brother wanted you to become one of us. And yes, he's been doing quite well. He was quite excited at the prospect of your recruitment, and like I said it's suddenly not a surprise. Although I don't know how you avoided the Aragami all this time, and I'll probably want specific answers on exactly how you defeated them…"

I grimace at that. I better be prepared for her interrogation, though lying flawlessly to someone as scary as Tsubaki will probably be impossible.

"I expect great things from you. Do your best."

Just like the man back there, huh…

"Uh, thanks." As I'm about to think of leaving, my advisor suddenly asks me more questions. "Before you leave, I want to ask, what exactly happened to you when you were eleven? And how come you were very alert to my responses as though you were a soldier?" She pauses, and then she asks "Do your eyes have a genetic defect?"

Ugh. Two questions concerning my past. Questions I can't answer directly. The second one I can explain somewhat, but the first and third ones… well I hope she knows about the importance of keeping secrets…

"Well, I'd prefer to keep what happened that time to myself, if you don't mind. I'm sorry."

She looks at me and nods her head. "Very well, I won't dig any deeper." Whew, nice dodge there… "Regarding your third question, I have _hetechioroma,_" telling her the Japanese name for having two eye colors like Kota said.

It's pretty much true anyway…

How I got it though, well, that's not the story I'm telling.

"As for your second question, well, my instructors at my school were quite strict and took respect towards superiors quite seriously. One of them, was a woman just like you, but still knew how to take care of us while we were students." That was true. Professor Victoria did take the knights' role quite seriously.

Apparently, my answer satisfies Tsubaki."You learned quite well apparently. Still, don't think I'll be giving you any special treatment just because of my brother and your current actions, welcome as they may be." I smile at her and reply, "I expect nothing more from the people who decided to take me in, and I expect nothing less from the ones that'll help and lead me."

Tsubaki loses her cold demeanor and smiles one last time, before asking me "Very well, then. Any more questions?" I think again, then suddenly remember I don't know how to get to the lab. "Err, how do how I get to the laboratory?" Going back to her usual expression, the advisor tells me, "There is a section elevator on the right side of the upper part of this floor. You can access all the necessary floors from there. Just select Laboratory when you are done touring the facilities, and head towards the end of the hall. Just look for the door that says Dr. Sakaki's Laboratory. He's the lead technician and Aragami researcher here, and the one performing your checkup. Understood?"

I store all of this in my head and repeat it. "Section elevator, Laboratory, Doctor Sakaki's Lab at the end of the hall. Understood." She then tells me, "Very well. You are dismissed!" With that, she goes back to work, and I'm off to find another way to pass the time.

***SCENE BREAK***

I decide to go up the left side of the stairs so I can cover as much ground as possible. Once I'm there, I see a gray-haired man with a red jacket and a black undershirt. His pants are black as well, with brown boots. I noticed two odd things about him. For one, he's wearing his jacket the way a stereotypical samurai in manga (Apparently Japan has those too. How does that happen? We're literally worlds, _dimensions_, apart, yet we have the same stuff. Then again, PEOPLE live here, so I guess it's not too far-fetched to be fair…) would, one arm tucked under the sleeve and the other not in its sleeve at all. and that his armlet is yellow. Considering his gray hair, that might have been an old model of the Gods Eater armlet. That means experience. I should ask for advice from this guy when I can.

The man seems to notice me and asks me, "Hey, are you the other new recruit that just got in?" Well, he seems to have met Kota already. I tell him I am and with a smile on his face he says "Oh, so you're the first New-Type here! My, being a Gods Eater really has changed so much around here…" Again, I am referred to as the New-Type. I really want to find out what that means, because the distinction makes me feel people are giving too much credit to someone who probably has absolutely no idea of what's going on. OK, I DO have an idea of what's going on, but still. "Um… I noticed that your armlet is yellow instead of red. Why is that?" The man looks at me again."Oh, sorry, just reminiscing… I'm Gen Momota, one of the oldest Gods Eaters here. I've been one of 'em for a pretty long time. If you ever need any advice, just come to me and I'll see if I can't help you." Well, I guess I was right. Considering how powerful the Aragami are, I'll need every advantage I can get, and information about the enemy is DEFINITELY welcome. Although… "Not to be disrespectful but… why did you stay a Gods Eater so long? Surely you've always wanted to rest, find another way of living, right?" The man just laughs and says "Oh no, I'm retired already. I'm just staying here to guide to new ones."

I look at the man with admiration. If it were up to me, I'd give him a well deserved rest already. But I'm not sure he would accept my offer. I think that he'd want to stay here, guiding the new recruits and protecting them in his own way. The man continues to speak, though his solemn face shows pain. "Being a Gods Eater is a tough business. Sometimes, you lose people close to you. We're despised by some, and envied by others. Even so, we're protecting those same people. Heh, but that's just an old Gods Eater rambling…"

The man's warning just frustrates me. I really wouldn't mind being jeered at. Protecting people doesn't have to be a thankful job after all. And yet, here I see an old man, one who has devoted his life to protecting others for even longer than I have, and who has lost so much from it, being hated by those very people. It just doesn't feel right. But I just smile at the suffering old warrior and tell him, "I don't really expect glory from this. I just want to protect them." I look away, put my hand behind my head and tell him honestly, "And… if you need somebody to talk to, I guess I can be there to listen to the ramblings of an old Gods Eater…"

The man then gives me a warm smile. "You know rookie, I like you already. I see great things happening to you around here. What's your name?" I tell him "Asbel. Asbel Lhant. It's very nice to meet you. I joined the Gods Eaters to help protect the people, under the recommendation of one of the Leaders." The senior Gods Eater then gains a look of surprise on his face and exclaims, "Oh wow, you're the one Lindow recommended? Well, it looks like he didn't make the wrong choice." He smiles again, saying, "You know Asbel, I just might take you up on your offer. Maybe I ought to buy you a drink one of these days." Composing myself, I just grin at him."We'll see about that. I'm not too much of a drinker." Well, it's true. "Not a drinker" can be classified as "Not too much of a drinker." Gen just grins at me and says "Well, we'll think about that. You need to take your checkup at 3 'o clock right? You already know where to go?" I nod and repeat Tsubaki's directions to me. "End of the hall on the Laboratory floor. I'm exploring the place first." Gen then laughs and says "You have to go for your checkup, right? I won't hold you up any longer. See you later!" I smile back at Gen, say the same thing, and go off to talk to someone else.

I see Kota looking nervous around the couches, so I go up to him and try to see if anything's wrong. "Hey, anything wrong?" Kota just looks at me and says "Ugh, I don't know where to go for the checkup..." Huh. That's an easy one to solve. I know and plan on telling him already, but I just want to know something first… "Why didn't you ask anyone else? Heck, why didn't you ask Tsubaki?" The answer was literally right in front… OK front and one floor down… of him, but why didn't he ask? The fellow rookie just gives me this… weird look, as though the reason was obvious. "Really. You want me to go over to Tsubaki. Scary as hell Tsubaki. Scary as hell Tsubaki who's probably not too fond of me because of our incredibly different reaction times."

Suddenly, I understand completely. But I don't feel guilty at all. It's not my fault the guy didn't go to a knights' academy and had scary teachers as well… But then again, I had ample warning…

"Oh. Sorry, Kota. I didn't mean to make you look bad. Let's just say I have experience dealing with that kind of thing…" Kota then asks "Experience?" I explain, "Let's just say Tsubaki isn't the only scary as hell woman I've had to answer to in my life…" Definitely not. Professor Victoria was pretty strict. Scary strict. Even my friends can be pretty scary when they're angry. Especially Cheria. She's more terrifying than most monsters when she's angry. Sophie could be too probably, but that's only because she's strong enough to punch your face into pieces, and thank goodness she's so innocent and not quick to anger.

That's probably why most of us would rather not question her _kanitama_ obsession. Poor Richard. The next time Sophie goes there, he better have his "Royal _kanitama_" ready, no thanks to Pascal…

I am once again brought out of my thoughts by another person. Kota brings a solemn and empathic expression to his face and says "Ah, women. So mysterious, and a lot scarier than most Aragami." I simply cannot disagree with that. "That's true."

Then I ask him, "Why didn't you ask anybody else?" He just shrugs and tells me "Well, I figured I'd relax for a bit until I asked. Decided not to worry myself with that for a while." That's a pretty stupid reason for not asking yet, but I guess it's not the worst. "Well, just so you know already, it's at the end of the Laboratory floor hall. The elevator's right over there." Kota grins at me and says, "Thanks man. You're pretty reliable, you know that? Let me tell you something in exchange. I was gonna go to my room after a while. They told me to check the Terminal there. It has all sorts of information about Fenrir, Gods Eaters and even tutorials about setting traps, sending command signals, special techniques with all your weapons and other stuff. The tutorials are all in the archive." Wow. That's useful information. Guess I'll check it out later. "Thanks for the heads-up Kota. That was probably a lot more useful than what I told you." My fellow rookie just grins at me and says "Hey, don't mention it. You scratch my back, I scratch yours, 'kay? It's what friends do." Well, that's true. I wonder if Nozomi's told him about me. Most people would consider "I saved your little sister from being lunch" a favor that needs repaying, but I wouldn't mind.

An expression of excitement makes its way to Kota's face, which leads to him declaring, "Which reminds me, you know that guy they were talking about on the news a while ago?" I almost facefault, but somehow keep calm. I just had to jinx it, didn't I…"What about him?" I ask nervously. "I wanna thank him and become as strong as him. He managed to kill four Aragami with a golden sword! How cool is that! And he saved my sister! It's all Nozomi's been talking about all week. I wasn't there for her, and he was. I wanna thank him for that. I don't know what I would've done without my sister. She did say he wanted to become a Gods Eater. Maybe I'll meet him soon! Who knows, maybe I became a Gods Eater ahead of him!" I suddenly get very nervous. This urban legend is spiraling WAY out of control. Thankfully, it seems Nozomi didn't tell him my name. I'd like to kill it now, but at this rate he'll find out soon enough too. Besides, it's touching to know that he wants to take all this effort to help me.

Though, hilariously, he was sort of right about becoming a Gods Eater ahead of his "mysterious" hero.

"Uh… Yeah! That sounds awesome!" I look for a way to escape. I decide to use the classic crappy excuse for situations like this. "Oh, would you look at the time! I got go now! See you later!" It's true. It's about 2:00. I have to get a move on. At least my admirer buys it. Kota just grins and says "Oh sure. Like I said, good luck man! See you later!" I bid him goodbye and leave him to his thoughts.

As I'm about to enter the elevator, it seems there's one last person to talk to. A pale-skinned girl with gray hair, black marks over her cheeks and red goggles over her head is beside the elevator. She's wearing a white tank top, black pants and brown boots and gloves with yellow lines. She just like an engineer, and considering the dust on her face, the goggles and the lack of an armlet, she probably could be. She vaguely reminds me of Pascal. She's a brilliant inventor. Her shotstaff is one of the most unique weapons I've ever seen, and her prowess with machines was pretty much unmatched. She really gets way too obsessed with her work sometimes. And she's eccentric beyond belief. She knows how to be weird. I sometimes feared for Sophie's safety while she was alone with her...

Aaaannndd I'm staring again. For the umpteenth time today, somebody interrupts my reminiscence by speaking up. "Uh… what are you looking at?" I should really fix that habit. Why am I even staring at random people anyway? That kind of habit could get me killed by women who think I'm a pervert! I compose myself and tell her "Oh, I'm sorry, you just reminded me of someone I know. I was just about to go explore the rest of the Den before my medical checkup…" she smiles and says to me, "Oh, so you're the rookie? How do you do? I'm Licca Kusunoki. It's nice to meet you." I smile at her and reply "Oh, I'm Asbel Lhant. Likewise, it's nice to meet you too. I'm the New-Type that just got in."

Suddenly, her face lights up. I have a sense of dread.

She gleefully exclaims while taking both of my hands and holding them up, "Oh wow, so you're the New-Type! This'll be my first time working on a New-Type weapon! Oh thank you for this chance!" I'm taken aback by all of this. Ugh, I guess she's really in to her job too. At least it wasn't about that darn rumor… She then explains, "I'm a mechanic of the Maintenance unit. I maintain all the weapons and equipment. I'll do my best to keep your God Arc in top shape to make sure you have no trouble in battle. Oh, I can't wait to work on your weapons!" Really, I almost feel the need to groan right now. But I find something to ask her about. "You do that all on your own?" She shakes her head and says "Of course not! I do a lot of it, but I don't mind!" Hmm, I wonder how long she's been working here. "Say, Licca, how long have you been here?" She then tells me "I only joined officially two years ago, but I've been working for 5 years already, ever since High School! I really love working on these machines. It's one of my favorite things to do, fixing them, analyzing them and looking over every detail… It's good to love your job, isn't it? I guess I take after my dad…"

That's something I can't help but both like and become sad at. I respect this girl. She has one of the most important jobs here, maintaining our equipment, and she loves the job. And it's something she apparently got from her father. I just wish I could say I got along with my dad the same way. I guess I take after my dad in swordsmanship, but that's pitiful compared to the love and respect I should have given him… But never mind that now. I'll just have to make up for it by leading Lhant like he wanted me to. I guess my sadness must have been pretty obvious because she just looks at me with a concerned face. "Hey, what's wrong?" I just look up at her and say, "It's nothing…" She doesn't buy it, but just says, "If you say so. But if you want to talk about it, just tell me, OK?" I smile and say, "Thanks."

Before I go on, I take a look at her again. The dust, the marks on her face… I ought to make sure she doesn't overdo it. "Hey, make sure you don't work too hard, OK? It won't be good for your health if you do that." She apparently looks surprised at that, but smiles right after and says, "Wow. That's the first time a rookie's ever been concerned about me like that… Thanks." What? That's not fair. Wouldn't it be obvious to do something as thank the person responsible for what you use to survive? "Don't mention it. It's what anyone would do. Or rather should do, considering what you just told me…" She then smiles at me for a bit more, then asks me "So, why did YOU join the Gods Eaters? You must have a reason for that. Pay alone won't get you very far here. Why'd you join?" I guess I can tell her the OTHER reason I became a Gods Eater in exchange for learning about her past. The main one, the fact that I'm here to help save the world or whatnot, is kind of hard to tell without exposing my identity. I explain to her, "That's easy. I joined the Gods Eaters to protect people. Ever since I was eleven, I've wanted to protect people. I believe I can help and protect the people here as a Gods Eater." She smiles at me and says, "Why didn't you try out before? You would have been a great Gods Eater!" URG. That's hard to explain. Saying "I didn't exist here up until now." Is out of the question, but… Oh I know. "Well, I did try, but I never got in. I had to be recommended by one of the Leaders to get in…"

She then looks at me curiously and asks, "Recommended by a leader? Where have I heard that before…" A look of shock then appears on her face and she says, "You don't mean…" She shouts, "You're the guy that Lindow recommended?" Ugh. Not again. "You must've done something amazing to have been recommended like that! What did you do?" I need to find a way to escape from this. "Uh… it's a secret! Classified! I can't say!" Sort of true, in a way. She looks at me suspiciously."I think you're lying… but I won't dig any deeper." I sigh in relief. I'll need a better excuse next time…"Thanks." She then turns cheerful again and says, "Hey, when you have some free time, let's go to lunch!" Well, that sounds cool. "Sure! I would love to." As I'm about to leave, I suddenly notice something I sort of forgot in all of the commotion…

"Licca, uh, can you let go of my hands?" I try to ask politely, but I guess I was too blunt. As soon as I say that, her face gains and expression of shock and her hands jerk back as though they were jolted. She looks away from me and awkwardly says "Ah, ha, ha… S-sorry about that…" Why is she doing that anyway? Cheria does that sometimes… Shaking that thought off, I assure her, saying, "It's no problem at all." Turning toward the elevator, I tell her, "Well, see you later." She then shouts, "Y-yeah! Later!"

Huh. What's with the stuttering? And was she blushing?

Shaking the thought off, I focus on the task at hand.

The elevator.

I can't believe it took that long to cross a small room like that…

I see buttons all around. Seeing as I still have time, I decide to go up to the Rookie's Section.

***SCENE BREAK***

I press the button and the elevator whirrs and starts going down. I wait for a bit, and I arrive at my destination. I walk out, and I see a small hallway. It's roughly a T-shape, the long main hall in front of me and more two corners at the sides. There's two machines and a garbage can to the left, and couches on both sides. A green carpet , white near the doors and with a gold Fenrir symbol covers most of the floor. I see a boy wearing a black cap in reverse, a green hoodie, a purple undershirt and shorts, and green and purple shoes. And at least he's not wearing gloves. He's complaining to himself. "What a puny reward. Rations are getting worse too…" I decide to ask if there's a problem. "What's wrong?" He notices me and then tells me, "Hey, you're new. Oh, you're one of those rookies." He then warns me and says, "Gods Eaters may get better pay, but it's not nearly enough to cover risking your life. Listen, just do enough not to get killed. Without your life, you're nothing!"

I agree with him. I decide to give him a blank expression and tell him, "Well, it's a good thing I'm not in it for the pay then." He looks at me weirdly and tells me, "What are you in here for then? Give me a few good reasons." That's a pretty stupid question. There are a lot of reasons for becoming a Gods Eater. "A lot of reasons are good reasons. The chance to survive, perhaps. A way to get stronger, possibly. Finding new friends, maybe." which is true since I've made… 4, maybe 5 or 6(Merchant and little girl included) in the last 45 minutes alone. "Me, I'm in it to help and protect the people around here. Isn't that a pretty obvious reason for joining?" He just glares at me and frowns, saying, "Tch, what do you think you are, some kind of superhero? Like all that crap about the guy who killed four Aragami with just a golden sword?"

I'm about to panic, but then I realize that at least he doesn't believe in it. He could be the one way I can kill this rumor, but I decide not to tell him that. I do say this to him however: "No. I am no superhero. Just some guy who wants to help. Is there a problem with that?" The guy loses his composure for a while and just says awkwardly, "Well… I guess not…" He then regains his arrogance, and just shoos me away, saying, "Whatever rookie! Just go do your checkup or whatever it is you need to do…" Huh. I guess this guy's not too bad after all. I guess he just doesn't show it. Before I leave, I decide to ask his name. "Hey, I'm Asbel Lhant. What's your name?" Without even looking back at me he just says, "Shun. Shun Ogawa. Third unit. Anything else?" I just smile and say "Well, see you later Shun."

Back in the elevator, I decide to go to the veterans' section. I get off the elevator, and when I get out, I see the exact same room, except the carpet is dark bluish and white near the doors. I get back in the elevator and decide to save the lab for last. I choose executive section, and the same room appears again, just with a dark greenish carpet that's blue near the doors. Getting repetitive… but I guess it's alright.

I guess it's time to go to the lab.

Back in the elevator, I push Laboratory and once again I'm in the same room except that the carpet is white, and red near the doors (couldn't they have changed it even a little more than that?). But there is one thing different. Near the doors I see a pink-haired girl wearing a green blouse and a black outfit under it. She has white boots with brown buckles. She's wearing one fingerless glove with a strap on the other arm on her elbow (which has her armlet) instead. I look at my watch. Huh, 2:40. All that talking took a lot of time, but I don't believe it was time wasted. Oh well. One last talk should be fine. Better to know my teammates as soon as possible. I'll also ask if the lab's here.

I go up to the girl and say "Hello." She looks back at me and softly replies, "Oh… hello there…" She pauses for a while, looks at me, then after noticing my armlet she smiles and exclaims, "Oh, so you're the rookie! They said we'd be getting two new kids…" Well, I guess they were notified. "I'm Kanon Daiba, Third Unit. It's nice to meet you!" "Asbel. Asbel Lhant. Nice to meet you too. Is this where Dr. Sakaki's lab is?" She then says, "Yup! The Doctor's lab is right at the end of the hall." She then asks me, "Hey, did you watch the news about the guy who defeated four Aragami on his own with a golden sword? I wonder if he was one of them, or if he's even real…" I suddenly get nervous, but at least she doesn't really think it's me. "Anyway, it must've been surprising, picked out of the blue like the rest of us!" I correct her, telling her honestly, "Actually, I was recommended by one of the Leaders…"

Her expression suddenly turns shocked, and she says "You're the one recommended to us by the First Unit Leader? He must've seen you do something incredible! What did you do?" I decide to change my excuse this time. "A favor. A special favor. I'd like to keep it a secret, if you don't mind…" She looks at me with a curious expression, but just says, "It's OK, I won't dig any deeper." I suddenly remember the time. I look at my watch… almost 2:48 already. Nothing else to do, so I guess it's checkup time. "Well, it's time for my check up." Kanon then says, "Well, I hope nothing will be wrong. Doc's a little eccentric, but… Oh, but hey! He's a kind man! You'll be fine! And if anything really is wrong, the sickbay is on the right door. I help there often, so be sure to tell me if you're feeling unwell OK?" This girl's nice and caring. She reminds me of Cheria… But anyway, I just reply to her. "I'll be sure to let you know." Smiling at me one more time, she says "Well, see you later Asbel!" "Bidding her farewell, I say, "See you later too, Kanon."

Well, it's about 2:48. I guess it's time to meet the doctor…

***SCENE BREAK***

I enter the room and look around. It's like most of the other places in the Den: The design is similar to a lot of houses, but what makes this place different is all the furniture and modifications they've made: Japanese screen paintings, lanterns, scrolls, decorative swords and other traditional objects, a blue floor, books strewn about all over the place and two red doors at the back which have an ominous "radioactive" sign on them. But what's most special about this room is the center: Wires connect several machines, computers and motherboards together, all apparently for use by one man as they all surround one chair, which is on a metal floor.

It's messy, but I've seen Pascal's house. I can take it.

In front of me, I see two men. One looks similar to the scientists during my aptitude test and could very well be one of them, while the other is an odd-looking fellow with gray hair and gloves, a black overcoat, a strange patchwork… kimono bottom? I don't know. He finishes the outfit off with gray colored socks on wooden sandals. His eyes are quite small, so they always seem to be closed. He's the kind of guy that looks weird, knows it and probably doesn't care.

The gray-haired man notices me and greets me, saying, "Hmm… You got here 726 seconds earlier than I expected. Good to see you New-Type!" What? I check my watch. 726 seconds is about 12 minutes and 6 seconds so… yup, it's just a few seconds past 2:48. How'd he do that so quickly? Continuing on, the strange man just speaks again and says "I'm Paylor Sakaki, and I'm in charge of Aragami technology R&D. Well… We'll be seeing a lot of each other from now on. Welcome aboard." The man keeps typing on his keyboard, then informs me, "As you can see, I'm still pretty busy getting prepared… Johannes, why don't you get your business out of the way first?"

The scientist, a blonde-haired man, turns towards Dr. Sakaki and tells him in a disapproving tone, "Dr. Sakaki, I think it's high time you learned to separate business from private matters." He then looks at me and addresses me, "Thank you for participating in the Aptiutude test. I'm Johannes von Schicksal. I'm in charge of the Fenrir Branch in this region as its Director. I congratulate you on passing the test. As I said, I expect great things from you. " Since this man is my superior, I decide to be polite. I say, "Thank you for accepting me. You already know my name, but I'd like to introduce myself all the same." Bowing, I introduce myself, saying, "I am Asbel. Asbel Lhant. Thank you for having me here, and I hope to live up to your expectations." Mr. Schicksal then gives a satisfied smile and tells me, "Well, you're certainly very polite and respectful to your superiors." Before he can continue, Dr. Sakaki interrupts the conversation and tells me, "He's a former techie too, you know. The New-Types' medical checkups interest you to no end. Right Johannes?" He seems to be playing around while he's doing this. The target of his teasing just responds, "I decided to retire as a techie because we have you. Keep that in mind." That's a very roundabout way to phrase a compliment… of sorts… maybe. The Doctor just retorts, with the _tiniest bit_ of hostile insinuation… Or perhaps just more teasing. "Did you ever really retire though?" the Director just ignores him with a "Hmph," and goes on. He addresses me again, saying "Now then, this is where the real fun starts. Let me explain the Fenrir Corporation's objectives once more. Your direct duties are very simple. They are to keep the Aragami in this region at bay, and to gather materials which are then converted into resources needed to maintain this advance base, as well as to complete the impending 'Aegis Project.'"

As I take all of this into account, Dr. Sakaki suddenly exclaims, "Ohhh… Look at these numbers…" I wonder what he's looking at?

The Director, pausing at his exclamation, pays him no heed, just continues with his lecture. "The Aegis Project is, simply put, a plan to create a utopia impregnable against Aragami attacks located far out to sea, close to the former Sea of Japan trench…" "Ahh…" The old Doc interrupts us yet again, but just for a short while. Mr. Schicksal's frustration is making itself visible now, wrinkles appearing on his forehead, but he keeps his cool. "Once the project is complete, humankind will be able to avoid extinction, at least for a while..." "Amazing! So this is what a New-Type is like!" And the Doc barges in again. Mr. Schicksal is not pleased with the constant interruptions and finally decides to reprimand his former fellow techie. "Paylor… You're disrupting my lecture." The doctor concedes and apologizes, but only half-heartedly. "Oh, sorry about that. I was just so taken aback by these stats... I got carried away."

It appears that Doctor Sakaki is looking at the data gained from the aptitude test. While it's nice to know I did really well, considering that it's a physical examination as well due to probably getting data from imprinting the Oracle cells and bonding to a bias factor, I sincerely hope that nothing points to me being an otherworldly traveler…

The Director, probably thinking he's free from interruptions, goes on, saying, "At any rate, the future of humankind is at stake. So give it your best effort." I don't think he wanted to take any more chances, so he just finishes up by saying, "All right. I'll be taking my leave now." Addressing the doctor, he tells him, "I'm leaving it all to you Paylor. Send me the data when you're done." Looking at me one more time, he asks me, "Well, what kind of uniform do you want? We have casual, formal and battle clothes. I'm letting you choose as a little gift for being the first New-Type." I think about it, and then rather quickly decide on the battle uniform. I make my request. "I'd like the battle uniform. In white, if possible." Just something to remind me of my knight days. The Director takes note of this and says, "Very well. It shall be sent to your room immediately. If you wish to get any more clothes, just buy from the merchant or craft them." Humbled by his generosity, I thank him, but he just says, "No need. It's the least I can do for your respect and the trials you've faced thus far." I make one last bow and he smiles at me. With that, Mr. Schicksal excuses himself, leaving the room and me with Doctor Sakaki, who waves as his former colleague as he walks out.

You know, that little clash of character just now reminded me of the silly arguments Pascal and Hubert used to have. It was always fun to see an argument between my serious brother and the quirky and eccentric inventor. Now that I think about it, since this room might as well be the Doctor's, the messiness and here and his own weird way acting reminds even more of Pascal than Licca does.

Said Doctor then tells me, "You know, when Lindow told me that you defeated four Zygotes with just a sword, I thought it was impossible. But now, looking at your stats, I believe him now! My, are all New-Types this incredible?" I decide not to have any reaction to that. I guess Lindow had to tell Sakaki, so I let this one slide. The Doc then tells me, "OK, we're all good to go now. Lie down on that bed will you?" He presses a button, and out from the side comes a bed with many different devices attached to it. The wonders of futuristic technology… Anyway, before I lie down, I ask him, "Will the checkup be painful?" The doctor just smiles and tells me, "You'll feel sleepy for a little while, but I assure you there's nothing to worry about. When you wake up, you'll be in your own room." Well, I sort of needed I nap anyway, and that'll allow me a little bit of time to talk to someone I know. Just one more thing though…

"Say, Doctor Sakaki, can I ask for a favor?" The eccentric doctor, still smiling, just asks, "If I can do it. What do you need?" I give him a pleading look and beg him, "If you find anything… 'unusual' inside me, can I ask you to keep it a secret? If you want to know, just ask me. Can you please do this for me?" I don't know how powerful the R&D head's machines are, but maybe they can detect eleth, or at least foreign elements. Eleth is definitely foreign here. If he can see it…

Well, I guess he'll be the first to know everything.

The doc just turns silent for a while. His grin gets smaller for a short moment, but then it's up again. "I can do that. I know how important secrets are. If I want to know anything, I'll just call. OK?" I thank the doctor but he just shrugs and says, "Don't worry about it. Anything else?" I tell him I'm ready. Satisfied, he says, "OK then. You'll have about 10,800 seconds of sleep… a little catnap, so to speak. Well then, sweet dreams!" Sakaki hooks the gas mask to my mouth, pushes the button, and I fall asleep…

Chapter 3:END

_**After the end:**_

_How was it guys? I hope you enjoyed! If you have any questions, the review box and the PM links are there for you! See you next time!_


	4. Chapter 4: Basic Training

**Tales of God Eaters**

_Whew, lot's of talking last chapter… anyway, well I finally have Asbel go for basic training._

_After lots of talking…_

_Including with Lambda. _

_Yes, game fans, I'll have Asbel communicate with somebody who's ostensibly dreaming alongside the Little Queen. That's how it is._

_And yes, the DTs are filled with people from other games and anime. That's also how it is._

_If you guys have any problems with my pacing, just tell me, OK? _

_And of course: Tales of Graces, Tales of Graces F and Gods Eater Burst and anything official associated with them are Bandai Namco's property. All other properties belong to their respective owners. Any original elements here are mine._

_Basically, Italics means special instances (Somewhere else, thoughts, writing, etc.)_

_*START*_

I open my eyes, and I see the shared mindspace. A world of a purple sky and a blue sea. I see a multicolored ball of energy in the distance. I smile.

"Hello, Asbel."

It's Lambda. The former would-be destroyer of humans is still using me as a medium to observe humanity even as I travel to other worlds. He initially didn't like the thought of it, but relented at the force they exerted on me. Through my training and a few "adjustments" on DTs' part, I can talk to him when he's taking a rest from his… dreaming.

"Hey Lambda. How have things been going with the Little Queen?"

He's observing the world alongside the Little Queen, hoping to change her and Fodra like I changed him. He won't be able to leave for a long time… But I'm glad to have helped him so much.

"Well enough. Perhaps it may not take as long as I originally thought. Your efforts, together with Sophie's kindness during our last battle with her, have shook her so much. Maybe I can be with all of you again… maybe even physically this time. And maybe even with a companion by my side."

I smile at that. "I would love that." Lambda doesn't deserve the burden he took. His long life was filled with suffering and tragedy. What the Little Queen did isn't totally misunderstandable either. What he deserves is to see the world Cornell wanted to show him, the Ephinea that he couldn't see because of Emeraude. And if he can have Fodra's heart alongside him, I don't see why not.

"But I didn't come here to talk about me. What about you?"

Lambda's become nicer to me ever since I became a traveler, to the point of actually using my name. He fears that I might end up like him, used, abused and left broken. I have friends taking every measure to prevent that, so I sincerely hope his fears don't become real.

"I'm fine I suppose. I miss everyone already though… Hubert, Malik, Pascal, Richard, Sophie and especially Cheria…"

I haven't seen her in months… maybe even a "year" at this point. It's been so long since that fateful day when I asked her to live with me. But I can't tell her how I feel yet. I can't hurt her any more, not like I did seven years ago. To tell her I love her, only to go off and maybe even die? I don't even care about my bet with Hubert anymore, she matters more. Once I'm done with traveling though...

Well, maybe that's when.

Cheria waited seven years for me. I told her that I'd do the same, and I will.

But still… it hurts to be away from them… from her. All of my fellow comrades in the Vanguard V unit of DTs always told me this is the worst part: Separation, isolation and going ahead. As time advances at a slower rate (I made a mistake… 3 weeks to 12 hours for this one, so that's good.) so the travelers don't lose too much time, I may be gone for a long time before people notice something amiss. But still… Years may pass and only months will go for them. Fortunately, that may not happen here, but who knows? The other hard part, I'll think about it later…

"Forgive me, Asbel... That, I cannot help you with." His expression is as sad as mine, but I shake my head and tell him, "Don't worry Lambda. It's not your fault. This is nothing compared to what you've gone through. I'll be fine."

Lambda addresses me solemnly. "Well, I suppose you'll always be happy protecting others. Remember Asbel, you won't be alone. If you need power, help or just a friend to talk to… I'll try be there."

I reciprocate his smile with my own. "Thanks Lambda. I won't let you down, I'll call when I need it."

The light's coming. It appears it's time for Lambda to go back to the Little Queen.

"Well, Asbel, I must go now. Little Queen needs her guardian… Take care." Lambda bids me farewell, and the ball of energy vanishes. Soon, I close my eyes and let the light wash over me…

***SCENE BREAK***

I wake up and I feel I'm on a soft bed. I get up and look around me. It's quite bright. It's a small room which appears to be based on a modern home. Green couches with a table in front, a drawer beside my bed, which has blue and white on the cover, a long counter with a faucet, a coffee tray and a fridge are on the left, and my personal terminal is in front of my bed. The bathroom is beside one of the counters. The lights are small round lamps. As it's so bright and judging from the time (Yup, three hours just like Doctor Sakaki said… it's 6 already.), the scene in front of my window is either an overlay or a hologram, I'm not sure. And I don't really feel like doing so…

I don't really know what else to do, when suddenly my DMW sounds, to the tune of "Mamoritai" (They recommended it, and somehow, they were right). I check it, and it's a message from Sena. I open it up.

"_Hey Asbel! So now you're a Gods Eater, huh? Good job. All of us here at Unit V that were free were watching, and I gotta say, your reactions to everything were honestly and absolutely hilarious to see. But enough of that. We remotely modified your terminal all the way from here. You can receive, check and answer mail from your watch. Your archive will now contain not just tutorials, but music and anything we want or need you to see, like recordings of all your interactions with everyone can even create your own personal stuff. We've also deactivated some of the tutorials so you can experience those parts for yourself and get a feel for it instead of following some guide. To access it, just punch your watch into the new terminal slot we added and twist your arm to see the DT only contents._

_We also gave you the "Gods Eater" Title. You know what to do._

_And lastly… I'm really sorry about not telling you about my DT status. Really I am. I'll try to make it up to you. And I'm sorry for you being there in the first place. In return, I'll help you in any way I can, and I promise none of us are gonna be in DTs for long. Be on your guard for anyone there though…_

_Anyway, bye Asbel. Let's talk some time while you're there._

_Sena, Wind Traveler, Code Name Eyeshield 21_

I check all of it, and if Sena were here right now, I'd tell him that he has nothing to be sorry for. He's been a good friend and a traveler for a long time, and as a normal kid who just wanted to play American football turned traveler, I'd say his life his life is much harder than a semi-experienced knight who helped saved the world. Twice. He doesn't have to work too hard to make it up to me. I think everything's fine now.

My only complaint is that finding one's attempts to hide his identity as a traveler hilarious is a poor way to apologize.

I'll tell him that later. And a new title, but I didn't even…

I then remember my new clothes. I look at my bed, and there I find an outfit similar to my DTs outfit. Well then…

*CHANGE*

I already know what I look like. The outfit is exactly like my old one, except with more variety in the black and white, a lot more buckles and straps, the top part of my pants being white and the back part of my shoes being black. I have a wrapped pouch around my arm, and Excalibur on my right leg instead of my left because I might use my God Arc like it was sheathed. And of course, I have gloves (had to happen…). They're not fingerless at least!

And look, a new title. I can change into these anytime I want now. Yay!

I'll "unpack" later. For now, I'll check the terminal.

I punch my armlet into the socket I see on the right. It asks me to enter my name, codename and a password.

I type in my name. For my codename… Why not? I put in the name DTs gave me, White Knight.

Password… I know. "Lambda." As someone who's pretty much a part of me now, I think that's appropriate.

With this, the terminal flashes me the picture of a small card with the name and codename, asking for confirmation. I give it the OK, and it prints out the card. With that, the terminal lets me proceed to the main menu.

Several different options for items, equipment, bullets and a database appear. I check it out, and several different options appear in front of me, many marked with a glowing "new". I'll check those out later…

Let me check the archive. I see an extra socket at the left side of the terminal, and I punch my hand inside. The socket closes around my hand, and the screen changes. The archive has the options "Tutorial", "Movie" and "BGM", probably background music. After exiting, the watch indicates that its music player has been updated. All the BGM composed by DTs for the adventure at this time (they say it can pump you up. I don't always use it, but I guess the right song automatically plays in my head when the right occasion arises. I've listened to some of the music for Sena's travels in my world, and man did I love the music. "_Sword Drawing! Grind!" _Was especially epic to listen to, one of the best songs I've ever heard, but probably only because I didn't have time to listen to any more.)

It does have a notice though… The song marked as the main theme is called Over the Clouds… I'll see if I can't get that in my head soon enough. Sena did say once they often relate to our adventures…

I decide to leave my room.

I walk out the door and I see Shun there. He sees me and apparently he has something to say. "Whoa rookie… nice new duds." Well, at least I make a good impression. "Thanks Shun. Anything else?" He then informs me, "Oh yeah… I was about to go get you, since Tsubaki asked me to. Go see Tsubaki back at the entrance. I don't know what she wants you to do… but as a rookie, you have to work hard for the chance to earn rewards you know. Well… good luck!"

Apparently, Shun's in a better mood. "Hey… thanks Shun. Looks like you've gotten better since yesterday." He smirks and says "Yeah well, don't get used to it. Go already!" I wave him goodbye and head for the elevator. I decide to not keep Tsubaki waiting and head for the entrance.

***SCENE BREAK***

A few seconds after the elevator whirrs to life, it opens up to just the floor I want. Licca's right in front of the elevator. She looks at me and says "Hey Asbel…" She freezes and her jaw drops. "Whoa. You really look like a Gods Eater now!" Smiling back, I say, "Thanks, but let's see if I can act like a good one." She encourages me by saying, "Well, I'll help you anyway I can!" Touched by her sincerity, I tell her, "Thanks Licca. Well, I gotta talk to Tsubaki now. See you later."

I walk down the stairs and see Tsubaki. I walk up to her, put my right arm in front of me and say, "Asbel Lhant, reporting for duty ma'am." My advisor notices me and says, "Well, well, in uniform already. It fits you." Thanking her, she continues and informs me, "We'll have you take basic training now. The desk over there is the Mission Counter, manned by Hibari Takeda. She runs the Gods' Eaters' mission information processing. Speak to her in order to receive an order for a mission. After that, use any of the terminals upstairs to select your item and equipment loadout. Got that?"

I review the process in my head. Talk to the orange-haired woman from yesterday, ask for a mission and finally select my loadout. It's sort of like taking requests from the Katz Korner and other places... I repeat all of the steps to Tsubaki, and she then says, "Very good. I'm expecting a lot from you!" I then decide to get my mission.

I walk up to the desk, and introduce myself. "I'm Asbel Lhant. I'm supposed to proceed to basic training now, and I have to get the order from you first, right?" The orange-haired woman smiles and cheerfully tells me, "Oh, so you're the New-Type? It's nice to meet you! As you might've heard, I'm Hibari Takeda, and the one overseeing mission orders! Pleased to meet you!" Well. Apparently, she's quite different from other officials, a cheery and gleeful mission giver. She then says, "Now then, let me explain to you about the mission workflow." She straightens up and enumerates the steps. She raises one finger. "First, you receive an order for a mission." She pauses and raises another finger. "Next, based on enemy intelligence, you can change your weapons and items upstairs at the terminal." She raises a third finger. "You then launch the mission by giving approval at the Den Gate upstairs, just put your card there." She notices I haven't spoken at all and slowly asks, "…Um… do you follow me?" I assure her of my attention, and tell her, "I get the order, prepare at the terminals and launch at the Den gate. Yes, I understand." She then smiles and exclaims, "Oh, that's good!" She then bows and says "I may cause you inconvenience at times… But I do look forward to working with you!" I smile, bow and reply, "Likewise. Please take care of me." She then looks up and says, "Wow, you're so polite! Thanks." Straightening up again, she says, "Basic training right? Well for this mission, please go through the door you entered to get here after the aptitude test, the door to the training room behind you. You'll cover everything about being a Gods Eater there, from movement, tactics and combat. You'll be fighting simulated Ogretail types. Good luck!" Thanking her once again, I walk upstairs and decide to ask Licca for help.

"Say Licca, I'm about to go for basic training. Any advice?" She looks at me, thinks and then tells me what she knows. "Well, you can choose your loadout, reload used weapons, store excess items and power up your God Arc at the terminal. Anything else?" Thinking again, I decide to ask about items. "Can you tell me more about using the terminal for items?" Licca then starts up again and says, "Aside from storing items, you can also exchange them for new items like materials and other parts. As a rule, carry as little as possible and store the rest in the terminal storage. After all, wouldn't it be a bummer not to be able to bring home some amazing item from off-base?" I definitely agree. I decide to ask about weapons. "How about weapons?" The mechanic then informs me, "God Arc armor mods, power-ups and production are all done here on the terminals. God Arcs are roughly divided into swords and guns. Both have 3 types, each with their own characteristics." She pauses, and then says, "Well, I guess you should ask Gen over there for the specific details… OK?" I look back and see the retired Gods Eater behind me. I store everything in my head and thank Licca, saying, "Thanks Licca. That was a lot of help." She smiles back at me and says, "No problem." Before I go off, the mechanic informs me, "Oh yeah… Make sure to check ALL your equipment, OK? Let me know if you run out of stun grenades. I might be able to come up with some for you. Just remember to stop by when you receive or complete a mission. I'll be waiting!" Smiling back, I thank her and say, "I'll be looking forward to it." For some reason, she looks away when she does that. What did I do? I decide to leave and say, "Well, uh… See you later." She then looks back and shouts at me, "Y-Yeah! See you later!"

The exact same thing as a while ago. What am I doing?

Shaking the thought off, I just walk up to Gen. The old soldier just smiles and says, "Well! You look a little more mature now with that outfit, Asbel!" Pausing, he then continues, "I like the way you treat Licca. You're one of the few people who remember that that girl is fighting right alongside you Gods Eaters in her own, important way. Keep it up." I don't like that at all."Shouldn't more people appreciate what she does for all of us? Maintenance is as important as any job. She deserves more respect." Gen gains a solemn expression and says, "Well, that's something people take for granted, whether we like it or not…" Shaking off his expression, Gen regains his happy face and says, "So, what did you come to me for?" I tell him, "I need to ask about God Arcs and armor. I need to find the best weapon type for me." I'll ask about all of them. Who knows when I'll need to use guns or become a shield for the rest?" Gen then pats me on the back and tells me, "Wise decision! Learning about the best weapon for you can spell the difference between life and death in battle. Very well then, Blades, Guns or Shields first?" The answer is obvious. "Blades, please." He smiles at me and says, "OK then, let's begin."

He then straightens up and starts his lecture. "There are three types of Blades: Short, Long and Buster. Short Blades, as you can tell from the name, don't have much range, but are incredibly fast, light and easy to handle. Dodging isn't a problem either with its speed, probably allowing you to dodge even between attacks. This is one of the Short Blades most important advantages, and it's crucial to your survival." Pausing, he continues on. "Long Blades balance power and range and speed, though they're only average in these aspects. Its defining factor is its special 'Impulse Edge' ability." Hmm. This one sounds interesting. "Impulse Edge allows you to fires a powerful Oracle cell bullet specific to each blade by opening it up and pouring Oracle energy into the God Arc. It consumes stamina and takes a bit of your Oracle Power… but it's like a death blow. Don't use it more than necessary, but if you can master it, it can become a powerful weapon in your arsenal." He then tells me, "The final type of blade is the Buster Blade. It's even larger and much stronger than the Long Blade, but it's slow and cumbersome. The key is to anticipate the Aragami's attack pattern and unleash decisive, sure-to-hit-and-hurt attacks at the right time. You can even guard between attacks, somewhat similar to the short blade and an ability that makes up for its heavy and slow strikes. But its most important ability to pour stamina into your blade to perform a deadly slash that is several times more powerful than normal, dealing massive damage to any Aragami. It's high-risk and high-reward, especially against swifter Aragami. Use it well." I take note of this, think about it well, and decide on a short blade for my training. I'll probably be switching between all three as I go on. I might even use my child style for the Buster and Long Blades, one of the many things I regained and refined over the nine months of training.

"Well, how about guns?" Gen then takes a deep breath and goes on. "Unlike blades, you can't use your shield while using a gun, so be careful and train your evasion to the fullest if you want to be a gunner." Pausing, he continues, "Like the Blades, there are three gun types: Assault, Sniper and Blast. Assaults are general-purpose guns, but are best for shooting standard 'shot-type' Oracle bullets. Like the Short Blade, it trades power for speed, firing bullets without rest. Its speed makes it a good match for Oracles that can debuff your opponent and negatively affect their condition, like poison or lowered defenses." He breathes a bit, and goes on. "Snipers are long-range guns best suited for 'laser-type' bullets. Sure there's a lag between shots… but your long range makes up for it. It's good for sniping specific weak points, especially ones vulnerable towards pierce type attacks." He continues on, "The final gun type, Blast type guns are just like Buster Blades: High risk for the short range and long interval between shots, high reward for their effectiveness at using the powerful 'explosive type' Oracle bullets. If firepower is what you need, Blast type guns are your best bet." I look back on all of the types and think of choosing the assault type guns when they need me as a gunner, but I suppose when they'll ask for other types as well, I'll try them then.

"OK Gen, what about shields?" Gen then pauses to catch his breath, and starts the final part of his lecture. "Shields are used in conjunction with your blades, and you can block both in the air or the ground. They have three different types: Bucklers, Standard Shields and Tower Shields. Bucklers have low defense, but they come out fast and easy, so they're a good match for the Short and Buster Blades. Offense isn't everything, however, so choose other shields if you need better protection." The old warrior pauses again, then continues. "Standard shields are well-balanced, so you can't go wrong with them. Choose it if you fight at mid-range, and modify it to suit your target and fighting style." Gen takes a deep breath. We're almost done. "Finally, Tower Shields expand very slowly, but the protection they offer is significantly better. Their large size can even cover your teammates should they be in the right position. If you want to fight as rear-support and at a distance, or want to be a true defender, choose this." I look over all my options and decide on the buckler because I'll be fighting a lot on the front lines. The other two I'll use when I'm asked.

I then look at Gen with and sincere gratitude, tell him, "Thank you so much Gen. All this advice is a big help. I won't forget all you've done for me." He just smiles at me and tells me, "Well, thank you for listening. You stayed awake through the whole thing and paid attention. You're one of the few rookies who did. I guess you really were honest about listening to my ramblings, huh?" We both have a laugh at that, but then I give him a puzzled look. "Gen, how can I fight at a distance using Tower Shields with a Blade?" The old man just looks at me in surprise, then smirks. "So you don't know, eh? I'll let you find out during training." Pushing me towards the terminals to the left, he shouts, "Now go already! Show 'em what you're made of! Just don't die in the real thing. You'll be OK." Deciding to heed his advice, I thank Gen and decide to start my final preparations.

I head toward the terminal and select items. Restore pills, stun grenades, OG restore posts and balls and snare traps… I check them all and decide to keep them. I also apparently have 500 Fc… that's the money Lindow gave me. I guess they must've taken it and stored it. That's OK and all.

Time for my equipment. I go back and select the option for it. Checking everything, I decide to keep my Knife, Thick Buckler and Type 50 Auto-Gun in my loadout as they're the types I wanted. I then see a weird one called Control Unit… I check it. I see many items, but I look at the one called Soldier… It says "Blade Attack Up" with a B beside it. I decide to equip it. I see two slots for upgrades… I don't have any. And I have only one set of clothes, so I'm all set.

I then check the database. A leaf with the word NORN beside it appears, and a long bar fills up, probably a loading screen. I select Aragami. Only Ogretails are present. I check it and read over it. I note all the important details: Its weakness to Fire, Ice and Spark, its vulnerability to its sides and its attacks, especially the tailspin. I press a button, and a model comes up. It's hideous and brutish, but certainly not as disturbing as the Zygotes. Its face is white, its body brown and its tail has spikes and a face. I take note of all of this and close the terminal.

I check my watch. 6:30 pm.

It's time.

I make my way towards the red door. I take a deep breath and enter the training area.

***SCENE BREAK***

I find myself back at the site of my test. I can see scientists upstairs again, but I now see Tsubaki amongst them. I find my God Arc, all of my items and a small microphone on a table in front of me. There's a small card shaped indentation there. I take the stuff, put my card in the slot and with that the table sinks into the floor. I fix the microphone so it reaches my mouth.

I hear a voice coming from my small device. It's Tsubaki's "Welcome to the training area again, Asbel. We will now begin your initial training. We want accurate data, so try to relax." She pauses, then starts to order me. "First, secure your field of view. Always take note of your surroundings. If you want to get your bearings, just focus on the front first." I then reply, "Understood," and look around. After a while, I tell Tsubaki I'm ready. She then says, "Very well. Let's start with mobility. Your body is now enhanced with Oracle Cells. Thus, you can run faster, jump higher and take more damage. This means you can put power into your legs and perform a dash step. Your strength, as you can feel from the lightness of your God Arc, is also increased. It's much heavier than you think." Pausing, she continues. "Now then, I'd like you to take 30 seconds to run around and get a feel for the battlefield and your enhanced body. Very well. When you're ready." I affirm my readiness, and then she announces, "Begin."

I start my run. True to Tsubaki's words I do feel faster and lighter. I run all around the area. I jump on the right platform, and I find myself soaring above it. It feels amazing! I then go down and try the dash step. Sure enough, I speed forward even with my apparently heavy God Arc. I then face the left platform. Deciding that it's too high to jump, I decide to use the free-run skills I learned from my training (Man, that was one of the coolest things I've ever done and learned. I wonder if I can perform a Leap of Faith around here?) I run up the wall beside the platform, but instead of stopping right beside the platform's edge, I run right above it! I drop down and brace for impact, preparing for a roll… and don't feel a thing! These enhancements are truly incredible… That aside, I run up again and, now knowing what to do, jump to the side and land right on center. Sensing my time is almost up, I jump down and run all the way back to my starting point and await my next orders.

My advisor speaks to me through the microphone, "My, aren't you talented! Those were some of the most acrobatic moves we've ever seen from a rookie and even many veterans. Thank you for your effort there. Let us continue." I thank her and confirm that I'm ready. My advisor speaks again, and she says, "It's time for initial combat simulation. Get ready." Well then. It's time for my first use of the God Arc in combat. I'll see if I can use my normal fighting style with this. In a move most would consider illogical, I flip my Knife and hold it like a sheathed blade. I'll see if I can have an actual sheath made, but this'll have to do for now. "I'm ready." I declare. Tsubaki makes and odd sound, but decides to trust me. "Very well. Begin!"

In front of me, an Ogretail rises up from the ground. Instead of the brown and white monster I was expecting, it is a glistening red creature. This appears to be their simulated version. It looks at me and roars. Very well.

I dash towards it. Right before I reach him, I start my attack. Grunting, I use a Shuntotsu, the most basic maneuver with my sheathed style. I use my right hand and slash up with my Knife. I stagger the creature, and decide to continue my string of attacks. I shout "Hoyokushou!" I get behind my foe and strike down, a red blade of eleth resembling a wing covering my God Arc. I don't give him any time to counterattack. "Soushou!" I channel eleth into the Knife, uppercutting my opponent my opponent with it and following up my strike with a downward slash and a quick thrust. I decide to play it safe and use one last arte before retreating. I shout "Soujin!" and the wave of energy comes out again, this time aided by my blade directly striking my target. I retreat with a step, but that was unnecessary. The last strike knocks the creature down and leaves him vulnerable. Deciding to finish him off, I shout "Bassairyuuzan!" and use my enhanced speed to speed right into the simulated monster. I deliver my four slashes again. My foe weakened, I slash him again, switching to my drawn blade style. I then thrust the Knife into his side.

The creature howls again. However, as it tries to get up, its head instead falls to the ground. It goes limp and stops breathing, or rather the emulation of it. I step back and get ready to defend. I wait, but It just vanishes and sinks into the ground.

That took about 10 seconds.

I can't believe this. Fighting the Zygotes was a hundred times harder. It must be the fact that it's a simulation. Or the fact that I'm using a God Arc. That must be it.

But then I hear… nothing but silence. I look up to the glass window, and I can barely make out faces of shock and disbelief. Tsubaki then asks me very calmly but with disbelief filling her voice. "That was fast! You defeated it in only ten seconds!" Well, that's cool. "Thank you."

Still shocked, my advisor then says, "Well, I guess I found out how you beat those Aragami on your own…" Hmm… maybe she's right. Maybe my artes, which had eleth within them, allowed me to penetrate the Aragami's defenses?

Regaining composure, Tsubaki says, "That was amazing… but let us continue. You already know how to block, right?" Hmmm… I don't. I say this, and the now calm woman tells me, "Just throw it out in front of you and raise it up." I follow her advice and adopt the blocking position I usually took with my sheath. Sure enough, the buckler comes out to protect me. Cool. If I can combine this with the Guardian technique from my training, I could take a lot…

Approving, my advisor speaks again. "Excellent. If you get hurt, just use the Restore Pills. They'll heal you when you're in need of some treatment and a medic isn't there to help. Better to be safe than to be cheap. At the same time, use them sparingly so you won't be short of supplies when you need them." Hm, I guess those will be my apple gels around here… Affirming my attention, Tsubaki then continues. "Watch your stamina and your condition, and be careful." Tsubaki then asks me, "Asbel, do you know what's special about New-Types like you?" I look back on the last few hours and remember that I've been curious about that. Telling her I don't, Tsubaki then tells me, "Well, it's time for you to find out." She then pauses and I hear a few sounds of buttons being pushed. She then speaks up again. "Very well then. It's time. I want you to command your God Arc to transform. Just calm down, concentrate and begin." I am confused, but I follow her directions.

"Transform!"

Suddenly, my body acts of its own accord.

My blade shrinks down as my hands move up. Then, the brown metal takes a horizontal shape, with an odd round part on top. My left hand is now holding a handle that I didn't see before, while my right holds the hilt. As I finally stabilize my body, the shape extends to form the ends of a very different weapon.

I now have a gun in my hand.

OH. MY. GOD.

THIS. IS. AWESOME!

This is freaking amazing! So THAT'S why New-Types are so special! It really is incredible! Our ability to be a blader with a shield and a gunner when usually it's just either one allows us to adapt to the field of battle! Damn, it's like Pascal got her shotstaff and Hubert's amazing morphing double blades and combined them to create one of the coolest weapons EVER!

As the group continues to watch my jaw drop, Tsubaki just teases me with a "Yes, we know, this is amazing. It took much hard work. We hope you like it." I lose my respectful demeanor and reply very joyfully, "Like it? I love it! It's amazing! I really get the importance of New-Types now!" Man, if Hubert and Pascal heard about this, they'd have a fit. They'd probably go on and on and on about how their weapons were copied and whose was copied more.

Not that my little brother would have a right to complain about copying anyway. He's the one who based it on Soul Carival…

Going back to business, Tsubaki says, "Very well then, enough of that. Time for target practice." Another simulated Ogretail comes out. "Defeat this using only your gun. Just aim carefully and fire."

I decide to change my strategy. A run up to the higher platform. I stay there and, somehow, I know what to do. I press the handle and somehow fire a flaming red bullet at the simulation's head. It still charges at me though. I fire 4 more shots at it. 2 of them hit. It gets staggered. It roars and changes its strategy. It readies its spikeshot attack. I decide to incorporate my dodging skills. Instead of a quick dash, I roll off to the side. I decide to get off the platform and just see if I can get it before it gets me. I get down and fire sparingly this time, two shots. They both hit. It charges again. I run away this time, firing two more shots. 2 hits. I decide to risk it all this time. I stand far away and fire off like crazy. I fire 8 times. 4 bullets hit. The creature then just gives one last weak howl, then falls down and dies.

Whew.

"Very good. Attacks in gun form take up Oracle energy. If you can't fire anymore, switch back to blade form to hit your enemies and gain it back, or use Oracle Ampules. Balance use of both to make it through tough battles." I take this in. It's just like gaining eleth back when I hit enemies without using artes, a new power given to me. Or using an orange gel, something that thankfully didn't need to be taught to me.

"Before the next opponent comes, let me tell you that you don't need to shout like that to transform your God Arc. You can use thought commands or pull or push the handle. It's all up to you." More useful advice. I try it out. Pushing the handle back, I the metal shrinks and reforms around one side of my handle. My Knife now enlarges goes back to its normal shape.

A smile creeps across my face. A big one. I think I know what to do next…

I tell Tsubaki I'm ready. I hear the words "Begin" again, and I have another monster appear. I'll use my drawn blade style this time. No artes. I need to test this. I run up to it and slash it three times and retreat. The fake howls in pain and roars. I'll try it this time. I run up to my enemy and give it 4 swift strikes. On the last, I give my command. I use a two-handed uppercut, and, to my great pleasure, my weapon reforms into the autogun. I fire my bullet. The force propels me back to a safe distance. I then fire four more shots. They all hit. With this, I defeat the creature.

Tsubaki then addresses to me in a surprised tone. "You transformed your God Arc while attacking and used the force from shooting to change your position, allowing you to counterattack?" I confirm her assessment. I've spent many months training brutally for traveling. I've learned more than just new moves. Thanks to forced study, I'm not as stupid as I was when I left. I still am very much an idiot. Just… less so.

The advisor praises me, saying, "Very smart use of tactics. Be sure to use that on the battlefield."

I know just what to say. "I plan to."

"I hope you do. Moving on..." Pausing, Tsubaki then tells me, "It's time to tell you about using stun grenades." I feel for the grenades in my side pockets. My extra ones that don't contain a pocket universe just for my stuff. "Those give a disorienting flash to temporarily stop the Aragami. It'll blind you if you're not careful as well." I confirm my attention. Tsubaki then continues giving advice. "Now, let tell you more about gunning. Normally, you can have two bullets set and ready to fire. You can switch them around with the other bullets you have. Just take a look at your handle." I take a look, and sure enough there are two buttons with screens I them. I see the button that I pressed has a red lined standard bullet, while the other one has a red lined wide bullet. Names are beneath each: The one I used says blaze: normal while the other says hellfire: mortar. "Switch the bullets." She gives me no advice. I know why.

I take a bit of time to think of what to do, but then I remember my bullets' names. I think of changing the second bullet to freeze: normal. I take a look again and sure enough, it is now a bullet just like the one I used, but blue lined and with the name I thought of. "Did it." Tsubaki then replies, "It seems you're catching on fast. I think you're ready to find out why we're called Gods Eaters." I shudder with anticipation. The transformation ability was amazing. I wonder what this will entail?"

"Very well then. This time, switch back to blade form." I comply. "Now for the important part. Hold your blade back and command your God Arc to 'come out'. You'll know you've done it right when you see it. Try not to be surprised when that happens. Don't let go of your blade." I calm myself. I take a step back, one hand forward, the other holding my blade and command my God Arc to 'come out'.

And again, I am taken aback by what happens.

Suddenly, my knife shrinks and a huge black creature comes out of the small black spot on my blade. It looks menacing, with several yellow eyes and a beastly appearance. I panic, but remember my advisor's words and CALM DOWN…

Tsubaki then tells me, "That is what you use to devour. Tell it to do so." I try my best to calm down. I tell it to devour and, purely by instinct, hold it back as it pulls me forward and closes its mouth. I pull it back, and it shrinks back to the normal black spot.

So, that's why they're called Gods Eaters.

HOLY. CRAP.

WHAT THE HELL JUST HAPPENED?

Tsubaki tells me with more than just a little amusement, "Please, hold back your surprise. It's very entertaining to watch, but we must move on."

What? She expects me just to calm down? That's Impossible!

Tsubaki just goes back to normal and helps me again. "OK, now for the real thing. Defeat the enemy after devouring it, and only after devouring it. Learn how it feels."

Fine, ignore me… I'll ask later.

Shaking off my surprise, I put up my guard as another enemy comes up. Devouring takes time to charge… how can I do this…

Oh yeah. The grenades.

I ready a grenade. As the fake charges at me, I throw my grenade at him and cover my eyes immediately. The grenade explodes and I can tell it flashes. Looking at my foe, I see it's dazed. I quickly run up to it and ready my… pet. Just as it wakes up, my beast closes its jaws on it. Once again, instincts take over. As my God Arc's mouth shrinks back in, I step back and press on the yellow spot.

A rush of adrenaline. Incredible power surging through me.

Delicious tastes.

Except for that last part, this feels just like an eleth burst. INCREDIBLE.

The Aragami fake is down because of my bite. I take my chance. I flip my Knife into sheath position. And perform another arte. "REKKUJIN!" The energy drives me to shout even louder as I unleash countless slashes on the monster. Just like that, it dies as I "sheathe" my blade again.

"Excellent work. That is devouring, the intake of Oracle Cells to temporarily increase your abilities. This powers you up with increased mobility and strength. Your control units activate, powering you up depending on the one you chose. Your bullets take up less energy, you have more stamina and you can even jump in mid-air. The other important part is that devouring gives you a limited number of special bullets called an Aragami bullet. This is called Burst Mode. Use it wisely."

It's called Burst mode? Wow, it really IS just like an Eleth Burst. So that's what the "B" for the Soldier unit's effects stand for. They all only activate during Burst… And what's this about Aragami bullets? I check my gun. Sure enough, the second bullet's been replaced by a picture of my God Arc's mouth with the name "3-Way Needle" below it. Unlike the others, however, it has 3 on top of the emblem, signifying a limited number of shots.

This weapon is the coolest one I've ever seen! Shooting, slashing, transforming, instant Eleth Bursts, firing your enemies' attacks right back them…

And did she just say I can double jump?

I WILL show this to Hubert one day. And his jaw will drop. Let's see him brag about his "special classified weapon from Strata" now…

Once again, Tsubaki brings me out of my thoughts. "Moving on. You will sometimes find things in the field you can salvage. Explore the areas you find yourself in and look for as many as possible. Today, we'll make them easy to find. Go ahead and pick them up."

I look around and see two shining points around the training area. I run around and pick them up. They're both simulated relics. Tsubaki then says, "Keep them with you. We convert them into usable resources once you return from your missions." Taking note of all this, I get ready for what comes next. "And now for the last part of your training . After you defeat the enemy, devour it. This is how you get materials and how you prevent it from regenerating. Do not forget this." This is the last enemy. The fake appears and roars at me.

It's time to end this…

I run up to the enemy and give it a slash in "drawn" style. It steps back, hurt, at the blow and roars at me, and I respond to its counterattack, a tail whip, with a step back of my own. I suddenly get a new idea in my head. I take a moment to switch my first bullet to the 3-way needle shot. I give the enemy several slashes and, with the small opening its flinch gives me, give my command.

"Feast!" I give my beast a small amount of time to prepare and, releasing it after my slash combo, it lunges at my foe. As I expected, I don't feel the satisfaction I felt a while ago, but it is enough. I dash step back, and change to my gun. I change my first shot to the new "Needle cluster". I'm feeling a sense of power in this shot and shout "Eat this!" as I shoot my Aragami bullet. Instead of just coming out, however, instincts control me once again and I brace myself. Suddenly, the sides of my buckler extend to protect me from the recoil impact. Countless small spikes come out of my gun and impale the fake Ogretail. The testers seem to have made this one stronger because it's the last one, as it slowly gets up on its feet. Not that it matters. I dash right up to it and put my gun to it point-blank. "It's over!" I fire the first bullet. This time, three giant spikes come out of my gun. All three needles hit the head, and it finally goes limp. I waste no time and devour it. I apparently get two simulated items.

I twirl my blade and "sheathe" it. As I do so, I say "No enemy can stand in front of my sword."

Silence.

Then, I hear a round of applause.

"Congratulations Asbel. You have completed basic training as a Gods Eater, and quite excellently, I might add. I hope you will continue to do all your missions like this." I sigh in relief and tell her, "Thanks, advisor. All the things you've taught me will definitely help in the days ahead." I could find a very warm tone in her voice. "It's no problem. Besides, you have quite a natural talent yourself."

Nah. That's just 7 years, two life-changing journeys and nine months worth of hellish training in experience. The eleth of two immortal energy beings being inside your body is also included.

Overall, that's far from "natural talent."

A billboard drops in from above. "We will now give you your results. You're ranked from C to S, with up to five sub-ranks each, based on your performance here. Let's just say we were all quite pleased at how you did."

Well, that's a hell of a lot better than dice rolls…

I'm never letting that go.

The results flash. I get 250 Fenrir credits as a reward. I get a ton of restore pills, and get 2 simulated items and a piece of simulated metal after conversion. Finally, I see a screen with a ton of numbers from top to bottom. My time, successful devours and how many times I was knocked unconscious are displayed. But that doesn't really matter, because my jaws drop to the floor at my time. "TEN MINUTES? The whole thing took only TEN MINUTES?" The hell? That was the LONGEST ten minutes I've ever gone through in my life. I see two successful devours and zero everything else. Tsubaki assures me, "Don't worry. You'll learn the rest in time. Except for getting incapacitated, I hope. Be on your guard." I hope so too, but I don't think that'll happen. I hope they have Life Bottle substitutes here… I hear Tsubaki speak up again. "Asbel Lhant, your grade!" I look at the board again, and my rank flashes at the bottom.

SSS+.

WHOA.

That's the highest grade I've ever, and probably ever will receive in my life.

I hear Tsubaki speak again. "You've had one of, if not the finest performances for basic training we've had in the Far East Branch. I hope you can continue performing admirably in your future missions." Blown over by all the praise, I just look at her and speak through my microphone. "Thank you, advisor. I hope to keep up the good work too." With that, Tsubaki finally says, "Asbel Lhant, with this, your basic training is complete. You will have your first mission tomorrow. You may continue exploring the Den, or retire to your room if you wish. Once again, you did a fine job. That is all. Dismissed!" With that, the table comes up again. With a notice telling me to keep the items I want to bring along with me, I put my God Arc, my mic and all my simulated rewards on the table, and take back my card. After the table sinks down and comes up with nothing again, I walk back through the door and back to the entrance…

***SCENE BREAK***

Whew. I miss the place already, somehow. It's nearly unchanged, yet it felt so long due to how eventful the training was. I see the little girl I met a while ago at the left. I'm still tired, but I guess I'll go through my normal routine of talking to everyone. I'll talk to her later. I walk up to Hibari to report about my mission first.

Hibari notices my and she's positively ecstatic. "I just got the results! SSS+ and you just finished in ten minutes! You truly are amazing!" I just tell her, "Thanks Hibari. Ah well, I guess I'll just talk to everyone here before sleeping. They deserve to know the results of my training for all the help they give me. Good night Hibari." She then just smiles and says, "Good Night!" And now for the next person.

I walk up to the girl and ask her, "Hey little girl. Did you find your daddy yet?" The girl looks up at me, smiles at me and says, "Oh hey! I didn't find him yet, but I went on a shopping spree at the merchant's! Hey, can't get by on rations alone, you know…" I smile at the girl's innocence and tell her, "Well, that's true…" She asks me, "Hey, are you OK? Why do you look so tired?" I continue my smile and just tell her, "Well, because I am. Just finished basic training." The girl brightens up and says, "Just finished it huh? I bet my big brother did a lot better than you did! He's a great Gods Eater! I'm sure you'll meet him!" She's just so cute and innocent, this girl. Though it'd be hard to believe her brother could get a higher grade than me since it's the highest, who am I to judge? Since my relative checklist I pretty much finished, it'll be nice to wonder about someone else… I just want to tell the others already so I tell her, "I'm sure I will. Well, I have to go now. Bye little girl. Good night!" She just keeps looking at me and says, "Good night! Thanks for being so nice to me!" Assuring her it's no problem I wave good bye and head upstairs to talk to Gen.

"Hey Gen!" The old warrior just looks at me in surprise and says, "Done already? How'd you do?" I don't have much to say, but I just tell him honestly. "SSS+."

Gen suddenly looks at me with shock, but then the look changes into pride as he congratulates me. "AMAZING! Kid, I was right! We have a great new addition to the team! Don't let your guard down, keep it up and you'll be able to take on the Aragami like the rest of us can, maybe even better!" He really looks proud of me, but I have to thank him too. "Gen, it was thanks to you that I learned all about weapons and what's special about them. I wouldn't have gotten that far without you, and I'll use what I learned today in the future, so thank you." Gen continues to smile and tells me, "Don't worry about it. Glad to help. Go on and tell Licca over there! She'll be thrilled!" I smile at him and say, "I planned to anyway. See you tomorrow Gen. Good night." I bid him goodbye and go to the elevator…

Licca notices me and looks surprised. "Wow, done already?" I nod. She asks with anticipation in her voice, "How did you do?" I just smile and tell her, "SSS+."

Just like I thought, she reacts with shock. But her expression doesn't change for a while. She then opens her mouth wide into a big smile and shouts "WOW! That's amazing! I should've known that a guy like you would do well! I can't wait to officially start working with you!" I smile back at her and say, "Hey, I gotta thank you too Licca. You were the one the recommended me to speak to Gen, told me about items and the one who told me about my equipment. Who knows what I would've done otherwise?"

Once again, she starts acting weird. She looks down at the ground and starts speaking softly. "Y-You're welcome." She then looks up at me. She has a bit of pink on her cheeks which I can see even through the dust. "Thanks for being so nice too. I just met a few hours ago, and you've become one of my best friends here. Thank you." That's touching to know, how she thinks of me. I reply gently, "No need to thank me. You've been so helpful. Thanks for all of it." We both just smile at each other. I think I'll go to the Lab floor before I sleep. With that, I look at Licca and tell her, "Well, Good night Licca. See you tomorrow." She smiles and says, "Good night Asbel! I'll see you tomorrow!" I think I could hear her say one more thing, but I don't know what it is… "I'm looking forward to it."? I don't know…

While I'm in the elevator, I palm my face. Kota's still having a checkup at this point. I'm just about to go to the rookies' section again when I see Kanon in the hallway. I decide to walk up to her and have a chat. She notices me, brightens up and says, "Hey Asbel! How was your checkup… Wow! You look amazing!" Huh…Oh yeah. Kanon hasn't seen me with my uniform yet. I tell her, "Thanks. The checkup was fine. You were right. Doctor Sakaki was nice." I'll have to check on the doctor tomorrow, see how he's doing and what he's learned. Kanon then says, "So, have you gotten used to the Den yet?" I think about that. In a way, yes, I guess the Den's pretty nice. I'll be living here for a while, so I guess I don't have much of a problem with it. I tell Kanon, "Yeah, I think I've adjusted for now." The medic then smiles and says, "Wow, pretty smooth! That must be why they call you New-Types, huh?" I then say, "And even if I didn't, I'll be going on m first mission tomorrow, so I'd have to get used to it anyway." Surprised, Kanon then asks, "Wow, done with basic training already? How did you do?" Once again, I tell her my rank and ready myself for the reaction. "SSS+," is all I say.

And yup, shock. "WOW! That's the highest rank! I only got CCC+…" She turns sad for a moment, but then quickly brightens up and says, "U, Um! Y-You really are amazing!" I just smile and say, "Hey, grades aren't everything. Tsubaki said time is what matters most for the grades. Besides, I just started. That was just training, not a real mission. I'll know for sure tomorrow how well I'll do." For some reason, she then gains back that look of sadness and says, "You're strong, kind, and humble… I wish I could be more like you…" I give her a confused look and she continues. "People don't like to bring me on missions. Sure, I'm a medic type, but I also have the highest friendly fire and misfire rate. I often miss and hit my teammates with the harmful bullets. Sure, our oracle cells absorb all the damage from Fenrir-made bullets, but I often mess up their rhythm…"

Self-loathing. I can see where it comes from. Friendly fire is definitely dangerous, and even if it doesn't hurt, messing up your allies can be deadly. However, she's just trying to help. It wouldn't be fair to exclude her.

I want to help her.

"That's not fair. People should try to accept you for what you do and cover you weaknesses." I pause, and I tell her, "It took me years to become as good as I have with the blade, you know. My style of wielding my blade was very clumsy when I was young. Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses. Don't get discouraged." And even then, I trained up again during those nine months to get my old artes back and refine them. It'd be really useful for heavy weapons, like the Buster Blade. She brightens up at that. "Really?" I nod. "Really. So don't give up." She thinks back and says, "Well, some people bring me because they get really rare materials from devouring for some reason while I'm around." What? That's a big advantage! People still doubt her? I think of something else to say… and I get a bright idea get into my head. "See? That's a big advantage! Besides, you say you're a medic type?" She nods her head. "Well, at times, a dedicated healer is needed. Perhaps you could try that." That's true. Though it took longer to defeat our enemies, having Cheria and Sophie focus on their powerful healing magic has saved us more times than we could count. Perhaps that's what her groups need. Kanon stays silent and starts to smile. "Focusing on recovery… I'll think about that." But then she gets a little bit downtrodden again, saying, "But I want to improve my accuracy even just a little bit."

Hmm… That would be helpful. I wonder what to do…

Suddenly, I get another brilliant stroke of genius.

"Hey Kanon, I know what to do to help you." She looks at me with anticipation and asks, "What do you have in mind?" I tell her, "I'll help you! We can go on missions, just the two of us to help improve your accuracy! Don't worry, I'll protect you so you can practice all you want. I promise." Suddenly, her face becomes pink. What am I doing wrong, really? "R-Really? You'd do that? Even if I put you in danger? I can't bear to do that to you with all the kindness you've shown me…" I nod. "I would. It's OK, I'll be fine. It's the least I can do for all your help." Kanon's face becomes pinker, almost indistinguishable from her hair. Seriously, what am I doing wrong? She then says, "OK! I'll think about it! Thanks!" I just tell her, "No problem. And don't be sad OK? It's much better if you're smiling." OK, now I really can't tell her face from her hair. Do the girls have the same condition Cheria has? Am I doing something to make them give that response? She just looks up and gently says, "Asbel… Thank you for being so nice." I smile back at her. "Hey, no problem. Anyway, see you tomorrow Kanon. Good night." Kanon smiles again and says, "Good night, Asbel. Thanks… for everything." Smiling at her again, I press a button and go back to my floor.

Back to the rookie's section. When I get there, Shun's still there. He notices me as I'm going to my room at the end of the hall. Yes, just one last obstacle…

"Hey rookie. What did Tsubaki call you for?" I tell him, "Oh, it was for basic training. Thanks for calling by the way." The boy in front of me just says, "Hey, no way was I gonna say no to her. I don't have a death wish…" Well, I certainly understand his sentiments. He suddenly smirks. "Hey, how'd you do? I'm pretty damn sure I got at LEAST 4 ranks higher than you! What'd you get?" His eyes are closed now, his teeth showing in his arrogant face.

Meh. Might as well.

I smirk and tell him, "SSS+"

OK. This is definitely hilarious.

Shun's expression didn't change at all. He just keeps smirking without opening his eyes and quietly asks, "Did you say SSS+?" I just nod and say, "Pretty much…" He glares at me with his jaws dropped and says, "You lie! That's impossible! Just because you're a New-Type…" Then he snaps his fingers. "Yeah… You got that BECAUSE you're a New-Type! You and your special privileges… I still win!" I just shrug and say, "Well, if you say so…" I just want to rest now, so I say, "Well Shun, nice talking to ya. G'night." He just says, "Yeah, yeah, yeah… See ya tomorrow rookie!"

***SCENE BREAK***

I open the door and look around. I turn off all the lights and fall onto the bed.

I look back at what happened today.

I had cells of man-eating monsters implanted on me through excruciating pain, made lots of new friends, had a checkup lasting 3 hours, got some brand new duds, learn more about my job and totally rocked at basic training before going to sleep.

I look back at all the things I did, the people I've met and the friends I've made.

This is just day one of being a Gods Eater. As I succumb to the exhaustion, I wonder if every day of my stay here will be just as eventful as this one. The guys were right: Being a traveler may be difficult, but there's never a dull moment.

With that, I close my eyes and drift off to sleep.

_**After the end:**_

_Well? How did it go? Well enough, I hope..._

_Anyway, that's it for basic training. I'll have Asbel's first mission up shortly. Review if you have questions or comments!  
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